Libraries, that is to say, collections of books accumulated and
made accessible for public or private use, were known to the
ancients before the coming of Christ. Probably the most ancient
library of which we have any precise knowledge is that of Tello
in Mesopotamia, discovered through the excavations of M. de
Sarzec and now in great part removed to the Louvre. It seems to
have consisted of more than 20,0000 tablets inscribed with
cuneiform writing and belonging to the time of Gudea, ruler of
Lagash, about 2500 B.C. Still more extensive was the royal
library of Nineveh, formed by Sargon, King of Assyria from 722
to 705 B.C., and by his great-grandson Ashurbanipal (668 to 628
B.C.). The latter monarch sent scribes to the ancient cities of
Babylonia and Assyria, where libraries existed, to make copies
for him of rare and important works, and it seems certain that
the collection comprised texts, impressed of course upon clay
tablets, dealing with every branch of learning and science known
to the wise men of his