You probably don’t know but I have a fanatical belief in libraries, which is above and beyond any religion.

Have you ever thought about libraries? Yes, they are all stuffed with books, which means full of information. All you have to do is go there to access that information, or even read a book.

At least that is what you can do in Western society, maybe not in some places. Which makes me sad for some people in this world.

Some libraries are virtual temples, not only containing information, but also holding areas for study and aesthetic enjoyment.

They are architectural wonders which reflect the wonders they contain.

For instance, Boston Library, the British Library to name only 2.

The British Library Reading Room inside the British Museum, Bloomsbury, before the move of the British Library to its current location at St.Pancras. Originally published in 20th century.

Never mind these vast monuments.

Your local public library can also be a humble source of valued information.

So where did these things come from? Who started this craze of storing and preserving information?

Well, if you Google for it, you will probably find the Library of Alexandria in ancient Egypt, filled with papyrus scrolls. Or even the Library of Ashurbanipal in Mesopotamia, which stored coniform tablets.

These are all ancient libraries which stored written words of one form or another.

I often wonder if they had local libraries in those days?

BUT – what if you don’t yet have a written word? What did humans do for libraries? How did we pass on our knowledge and traditions?

Moms!

Our mothers did it.

Below is an image of a Navaho mother who would sing songs to her children, passing on the tribe’s knowledge.

These stories and songs would be passed on to each generation.

             The original library!