I’ve decided to begin a series about the history of libraries.

My first question is, “What is the oldest library in the world?”
It turns out there is more than one answer.

The Maltestiana Library in Cesena, Italy, which opened to the public in 1454, is considered the oldest public library in the world.

Bibliothèque nationale de France (France’s national library) can trace its origin all the way back to 1368.

The library of Merton College, Oxford calls itself “the world’s oldest continuously functioning library for university academics and students.” It began in 1276.

Villa of the Papyri is a private house that was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. With over 1,800 carbonized papyrus scrolls, it is one of the few surviving classical libraries.

Founded in the third century BC, the Royal Library of Alexandria is the most famous ancient library. Unfortunately it was burned (possibly more than once) and no longer exists.

The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal is a collection of cuneiform clay tablets from the seventh century BC, including the Epic of Gilgamesh. This Assyrian library was probably destroyed when Nineveh fell in 612 BC.

The ancient city of Ugarit (in modern-day Syria) contained several libraries (including a temple library and two private libraries), dating to circa 1200 BC.

Another ancient city with an archive of clay tablets was Hattusa, the Hittite capital (in modern-day Turkey), which was destroyed around 1200 BC.

Finally, according to my research, the award for oldest library in the world goes to Ebla, an early kingdom in Syria. Its library of cuneiform tablets dates as far back as 2500 BC and shows evidence of classification and cataloguing.

I hope you enjoyed this short survey of the world’s oldest libraries. I welcome corrections and additions in the comments. Also, please share suggestions for future posts on the history of libraries.