History of Libraries series leads January events at Brooks

The History of Libraries --click for a printable schedule--lecture series by Dr. Christina Gibbons should attract bibliophiles from the area. To begin on Wednesday at noon in the Library's meeting room, the series will begin with the talk, IMPERIAL AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. According to the series description,

In the five thousand years that humans have been reading and writing, libraries have exemplified the value placed upon literacy. A history of the library collections of mankind helps us understand why and how reading has been important and also raises questions about where literacy is headed in the 21st century. January 9th. Lecture 1: Imperial and Research Libraries of the Ancient World. January 23rd. Lecture 2: Sacred and Secular Libraries of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. February 6th. Lecture 3: Private and Public Libraries of the 18th and 19th Centuries. February 20th. Lecture 4: National and International Libraries of the 18th -21st Centuries Snow Date: March 5th

Christina Gibbons has a Ph.D. from UMass Amherst in English Literature. She has led writing classes and writing groups for many years in the Brattleboro area. Her recent interest in the history of reading, writing, and libraries is an effort to understand the shift from page to screen that has occurred since she was a bookish child circa 1950.