Ancient Roman Libraries
The first public library in Rome was that founded by Asinius Pollio, and was in the Atrium Libertatis on the Aventine.
Julius Caesar had projected a grand Greek and Latin library, and had commissioned Varro to take measures for the establishment of it; but the scheme was prevented by his death.
The library of Pollio was followed by that of Augustus in the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine Hill, another, the Bibliotheca Octaviana (so called from Augustus's sister Octavia), forming part of the Porticus Octavia.
There were also libraries on the Capitol, in the Temple of Peace founded by Vespasian, in the palace of Tiberius, besides the Ulpian Library (so called after its founder, Trajan), which was the most famous.
This library was attached by Diocletian, as an ornament, to his thermae. Private collections of books were made at Rome soon after the Second Punic War, sometimes from the spoils of Grecian or Eastern conquest.
Thus Aemilius Paulus brought to Rome the library of Perseus, king of Macedonia; Sulla, that of Apellicon of Teos; Lucullus, the extensive one of the kings of Pontus, to which he gave the public free access.
The zeal of Cicero, Atticus, Varro, and others in increasing their libraries is well known. Serenus Sammonicus possessed a library of 62,000 books.
Towards the end of the Republic it became, in fact, the fashion to have a room elegantly furnished as a library, and reserved for that purpose. However ignorant or unstudious a person might be, it was fashionable to appear learned by having a library, though he might never even read the titles of the books.
Seneca condemns the rage for mere book-collecting, and rallies those who were more pleased with the outside than the inside. Lucian wrote a separate piece to expose this common folly. We read of provincial libraries at Milan, Comum, Tibur, and Patrae.
A library generally had an eastern aspect.
In Herculaneum a library, fully furnished, has been discovered. Round the walls, it had cases containing the books in rolls, and a rectangular case occupied the center of the room: these cases were numbered. It was a very small room - so small that a person by stretching out his arms could touch both sides of it; yet it contained 1700 rolls.
The cases were called either armaria, loculamenta, foruli, or nidi.
Asinius Pollio had set the fashion in his public library of adorning the room with the portraits and busts of celebrated men, as well as statues o Minerva and the Muses.
This example was soon followed in the private libraries of the rich.
The librarii a bibliotheca or bibliothecarii, who had charge of the libraries, were usually slaves or freedmen.
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF ALL FILES
CRYSTALINKS MAILING LIST, NEWSLETTER, UPDATES