The Library reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Library

Alternative meaning: Library (computer science)

In its traditional sense, a library is a collection of books.

However, with the collection or invention of media other than books for storing information, many libraries are now repositories and/or access points for maps, printss or other artwork, microfilm, microfiche, audio tapes, CDss, LPss, video tapes and DVDs, and have facilities to use CD-ROM databases and the Internet.

Thus, modern libraries have been redefined as a places to get access to information in any format, whether it is stored inside the building or not.

Table of contents

1 Etymology of the word 2 Types of libraries 3 Description 4 Library use 5 Library management 6 Some famous libraries 7 See also 8 External links

Etymology of the word

The word is derived from Latin liber, which means "book." Derivations from the Greek Bibliotheke (from Biblos, book) are used in at least German, French, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Dutch. Other languages, such as Icelandic, Finnish, and Estonian, use words that derive from their own words for book (Bokasafn, Kirjasto, and Raamatukogu, respectively).

Types of libraries

Libraries are placed into four categories:

• Academic libraries -- Libraries located on the campuses of colleges and universities serve primarily the students and faculty of its institution and other academic institutions.
• School libraries -- Many primary and secondary schools have a library that support the curriculum of its school.
• Public libraries or public lending libraries -- These libraries are open to consultation by the public and make at least some of their books available for borrowing, so readers can use them at home, over a period of days or weeks.
• Special libraries -- All other libraries fall into this category. Many private businesses and organizations such as hospitals, museums and law fims, and certain government departments, have their own library on site when their employees need to do specialized research while at work.

Description

Libraries usually have nearly every item they own arranged in a precise and logical order according to a library classification system, so that items can be found quickly and browsed efficiently. Libraries often feature a professional librarian at a reference desk to help its users find what they are looking for.

Library use

Many persons do not know how to use a library effectively. Fear and anxiety are common in some users. These problems drove the emergence of the library instruction movement, which advocates library user education. Library instruction has been practiced in the USA since the 19th century. One of the leaders of the library instruction movement in the late 20th and early 21st centuries is Michael Lorenzen. Library instruction is closely related the study of information literacy.

Librarians need to let the public know what materials are present in their library, and the public needs to know how to access that information. Traditionally, this was accomplished by card catalogs, but the emergence of the Internet has led to the adoption of digital catalogs, which allow users to search the library's holdings from any location with Internet access. This style of catalog maintenance is compatible with new types of libraries, such as digital libraries and distributed libraries.

Though books are nowadays produced using a digital version of the content, for most books such a version is not available to the public (i.e. neither in the library nor on internet).

Library management

Basic tasks in library management include the planning of acquisition (which materials should be acquired), library classification, preservation of materials (especially rare and fragile materials such as manuscripts), borrowing, and developing and administering library computer systems. More long-term issues include the planning of the construction of new libraries or extensions to existing ones.

Some famous libraries

• Egypt's ancient Library of Alexandria and modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina
• Library of Congress in Washington DC
• Library of Sir Thomas Browne
• British Library in London
• Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris
• Bodleian Library at Oxford University
• University Library at Cambridge University
• Vatican Library in Vatican City
• Fisher Library at the University of Sydney (largest in the Southern Hemisphere)
• John Rylands Library in Manchester
• Royal Library in Copenhagen
• Carolina Rediviva at Uppsala University
• Garrison Library in Gibraltar.

Other libraries:

• The St. Phillips Church Parsonage Provincial Library, established in 1698 in Charleston, South Carolina, was the first public lending library in the American Colonies. See also Benjamin Franklin's free public library in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• Boston Public Library, an early public lending library in America, was established in 1848.
• Haskell Free Library and Opera House, "The only library in America with no books".

Some libraries that specialize in one subject:

• Chess libraries
• Esperanto libraries
• Family History Library in Salt Lake City, the largest genealogy library

For more extensive lists, see

• List of libraries
• List of national libraries

See also

• Library and information science
• Literature
• Public library
• Slide library
• Dewey Decimal Classification
• Carnegie libraries
• Cybrary

External links

• Libraries : Frequently Asked Questions

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