"This book, which includes fourteen well-chosen illustrations, describes the crucial role libraries have played throughout history: in ancient Egypt, China, the classical Western world, Islam, and medieval and Renaissance Europe. It continues with the libraries of colonial America, The Library of Congress, university libraries, and today's large public library systems. Throughout the twentieth century, libraries have both supported democratic institutions and have also been tools of Nazi and Soviet totalitarianism. At the dawn of the telecommunications and computer age, it is evident that libraries of the future will play a vital role in the preservation of crumbling books and documents, and in forming new ways of preserving our culture."
"Examines the role of libraries in societies throughout history from the Sumerians to the computer age, and includes fourteen illustrations."@en
"In this fully updated edition, Fred Lerner continues to explore the ways in which records of human experience are collected. Updated to include our new technology, this work describes the crucial role libraries played in ancient Egypt, Han-dynasty China, the ancient Western Classical world (the great library of Alexandria, which was lost to us in stages over many years), the Baghdad of Harun-al-Rashid, and medieval and Renaissance Europe. It continues with the libraries of colonial America, the Library of Congress, university libraries, and today's large public library system."

"Historia de las bibliotecas del mundo : desde la invención de la escritura hasta la era de la computación"@es
"Historia de las bibliotecas del mundo : desde la invención de la escritura hasta la era de la computación"
"The story of libraries : from the invention of writing to the computer age"
"The story of libraries : from the invention of writing to the computer age"@en
"Kütüphanelerin hikayesi : yazının icadından bilgisayar çağına"
"The story of libraries from the invention of writing to the computer age"@en
"The story of libraries from the invention of writing to the computer age"
"The Story of Libraries : From the Invention of Writing to the Computer Age"
"The Story of libraries : from the invention of writing to the computer age"
"Story of Libraries : From the Invention of Writing to the Computer Age"
"Story of Libraries"@en
"Historia de las bibliotecas del mundo : desde la intervención de la escritura hasta la era de la computación"@es
"图书馆的故事 : 从文字初创到计算机时代 = Story of libraries"
"Tu shu guan de gu shi : cong wen zi chu chuang dao ji suan ji shi dai = Story of libraries"
"Kütüphanelerin hikayesi: Yazının icadından bilgisayar çağına"@tr