page_title: History of libraries
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: History of libraries / National libraries / Origins
caption_attribution_description: English: Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels, Incipit to the Gospel of Matthew. The main text contains the first sentence of the Gospel According to Saint Matthew: "Liber generationis Iesu Christi filii David filii Abraham" (The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.) The first line contains the word "liber" (the book) with illuminated letters in insular majuscule, the first three letter (lib) are much more ornate than the last two (er) in white. The next two lines are in runic capitals (ie. latin letter in a rune inspired script, also seen in the Book of Nunnaminster for example): the first of these lines partially containts the word "generationis" (generation in genitive case) as "-onis" appears in the next line followed by the contracted form of "Iesu", namely "Ihu" with a tilde on the h. This type of contraction is called a Nomina sacra. The last line is in insular majuscule and begins with another Nomina Sacra, the contraction "χρi" with a tilde meaning "Christi". This is followed by a more compressed series of words. The first is "filii" (son, genetive) with a fi ligature and a letter "l" with two stacked "i" letters on its leg. Then "David" is seen and is formed with a letter "d" with an "a" stacked on a "v" in its Counter followed by "id". After that, "filii" is present again, this time however the fi ligature is replaced with the Greek letter phi (φ) given its name (note that son in Greek is υἱός, ie. unrelated). The last word is "Abraham" which is split into two lines. Español: es:Evangelios de Lindisfarne
context_page_description: The history of libraries began with the first efforts to organize collections of documents. Topics of interest include accessibility of the collection, acquisition of materials, arrangement and finding tools, the book trade, the influence of the physical properties of the different writing materials, language distribution, role in education, rates of literacy, budgets, staffing, libraries for specially targeted audiences, architectural merit, patterns of usage, and the role of libraries in a nation's cultural heritage, and the role of government, church or private sponsorship. Since the 1960s, issues of computerization and digitization have arisen.
  Library history is the academic discipline devoted to the study of the history of libraries; it is a subfield of library science and of history.
context_section_description: The first national libraries had their origins in the royal collections of the sovereign or some other supreme body of the state. This era is termed the "golden age of libraries", with millions of printed books available and widespread interest growing in both national and classical literature. National libraries would eventually become objects of pride in that same spirit, most Europeans considered themselves as belonging to a nation first and a religion second. Wars of religion would give way to wars of nationalism, as fierce and widespread as ever. This would become a major turning point for many libraries and their collections.
  One of the first plans for a national library was devised by the Welsh mathematician John Dee, who in 1556 presented Mary I of England with a visionary plan for the preservation of old books, manuscripts and records and the founding of a national library, but his proposal was not taken up.
  In England, Sir Richard Bentley's Proposal for Building a Royal Library published in 1694 stimulated renewed interest in the subject. Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, a wealthy antiquarian, amassed the richest private collection of manuscripts in the world at the time and founded the Cotton Library. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, many priceless and ancient manuscripts that had belonged to the monastic libraries began to be disseminated among various owners, many of whom were unaware of the cultural value of the manuscripts.  Sir Robert's genius was in finding, purchasing and preserving these ancient documents. After his death his grandson donated the library to the nation as its first national library. This transfer established the formation of the British Library.
caption: The Lindisfarne Gospels is but one of the treasures collected by Sir Robert Cotton.
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