A Brief History of Library Building

As places for the collection and storage of information, libraries belong to the oldest types of building, alongside dwellings and structures for religious and cult use. In the course of their history, libraries have exhibited a wide range of constructional and architectural forms. Throughout the ages, however, five main aspects have been important: – the form of the medium to be stored; – the changing nature of the use of libraries; – the constantly growing number of books and other media; – artistic and especially architectural changes of style; – the ongoing development of constructional technology. Libraries with a flexible organization will be able to integrate digital, virtual concepts in their work and structure, especially in respect of reading places. Developments of this kind, however, change nothing in the basic purpose of libraries and the tenets of their work, which have remained valid for some 5,000 years: namely, collecting and putting stocks in order and making them available to users.