Inside Roman Libraries: Book Collections and Their Management in Antiquity

Studies in the History of Greece and Rome

by George W. Houston

Libraries of the ancient world have long held a place in the public imagination. Even in antiquity, the library at Alexandria was nearly legendary. Until now there has been relatively little research to discover what was inside these libraries, how the collections came into being and evolved, and who selected and maintained the holdings. In this engaging and meticulously researched study, George W. Houston examines a dozen specific book collections of Roman date in the first comprehensive attempt to answer these questions.

Through a careful analysis of the contents of the collections, Houston reveals the personalities and interests of their owners, shows how manuscripts were acquired, organized, and managed, and identifies the various purposes that libraries served. He considers the life expectancy of manuscripts, the sizes of libraries, and dangers to books, as well as the physical objects within libraries from scribal equipment to works of art. The result is a clearer, more specific, and more detailed picture of ancient book collections and the elements of Roman libraries than has previously been possible.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Books About Books, Ancient History

327 pages, Hardcover

First published November 10, 2014

Reviews

[Judyta Szacillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to give life to your vision of ancient libraries, you should read this book. I admit I skimmed through the specific case studies in the middle of the book, but I absolutely loved the first and the final parts. It's a gold mine of knowledge about ancient library collections, book producers, book owners, ways in which books were kept, how they were reused, repaired, disposed of; what was needed to make them, how they were stored, etc., etc. Everything is scrupulously backed up with evidence from the historical sources. One thing I longed for and didn't get was the information on the slightly later period, because the Author limited the scope of the book to the history of scrolls in the Roman empire only. I would love to see the same analysis for the transition period to the first codices collections.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough review of Roman book collection based on evidence from Egypt and Herculaneum. It is very dense, but an excellent overview of the evidence of book technology.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had no idea that so much could be said about ancient Roman libraries----said, deduced, inferred, speculated upon, etc. Very interesting book. He covers virtually every aspect you could think of. My rating of 3 is not a reflection of my opinion on the scholarship presented in this book, which I do consider to be very high, but more a rating for myself as to what level of enjoyment I derived from it as leisure reading, compared to other books I enjoy.

[Brian LePort · Rating 5 out of 5]

G.W. Houston's Inside Roman Libraries: Book Collections and Their Management in Antiquity is a book about "everything that may be in a Roman library" written in order to "obtain a better understanding of several matters" ....Read more: http://www.brianleport.com/personal-b...

[Mills College Library]

027.03763 H8433 2014