Five thousand years ago, the Sumerian people created writing and established libraries to preserve the prayers, hymns, and documents necessary for progress both in religion and commerce. Ever since, libraries have reflected and shaped the societies that created them by preserving the thoughts and actions of their ancestral cultures, and transmitting them through time.A librarian for more than thirty years, Fred Lerner has based this completely new book on The Story of Libraries -- which was the first volume of its kind in many years. More concise and with nearly twice as many illustrations as its predecessor, Libraries through the Ages will especially appeal to young people in grades five through eight, as well as to older readers -- including adults -- who want a compact and lively international history of book collecting, from the invention of writing to the computer age.It's all here, from ancient Egypt to the great library of Alexandria (which was not destroyed in one large fire, but was actually lost over many years), the libraries of Han-dynasty China, India, the Middle East, medieval and Renaissance Europe, to the formation and modern workings of the Library of Congress as well as today's massive public-library systems. A time line, select bibliography, and index round out the book.Among the fascinating photographs and drawings in this volume are a cuneiform tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh; a drawing of the library of Alexandria; the plan for a ninth-century European monastery library; the re-creation of a scribe of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad; a fine rendition of the former circular Reading Room of the British Museum; and more: twenty-five carefully chosenillustrations in all, many in addition to those appearing in The Story of Libraries, help tell this remarkable, truly multicultural story.