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A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.

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69-567: The Washington Library Association (WLA) is a professional organization for librarians and library workers in the U.S. state of Washington . It is headquartered in Seattle and has 1,504 individual members and 49 institution members as of 2019. WLA was founded by the Washington State Library at a meeting in Tacoma on March 27, 1905. Meetings were held annually until 1909 when the first WLA

138-549: A Technical and Further Education (TAFE) college/institute followed by an ALIA-recognized bachelor's degree in library and information studies. ALIA is responsible for accreditation of library specific qualifications for both librarians and library technicians. Professional Australian teacher-librarians require slightly different qualifications. In addition to having a degree that meets ALIA's accreditation process, teacher librarians must also hold recognized teaching qualifications. The increasing role of technology in libraries has

207-690: A doctorate in library science. The first doctoral degree in library science was offered by the Graduate Library School, University of Chicago, 1928-1989. Graduates with PhDs usually become teaching faculty in schools of library and information science, or sometimes occupy the directorship or deanship of university libraries. Those undertaking research at the doctoral level can pursue a very wide range of interests including information technology , government information policy, social research into information use among particular segments of society, information in organizations and corporate settings, and

276-450: A teaching credential ; however, an additional library science degree is not generally required. Many, if not most, academic librarians also have a second, subject-based master's degree. This is especially true of librarians working at four-year colleges. Beta Phi Mu , the international honor society for library & information science and information technology, honors faculty for distinguished service to education for librarianship with

345-461: A certain amount of special training; some have criticized this trend. Systems librarians develop, troubleshoot and maintain library systems, including the library catalog and related systems. Technical service librarians work "behind the scenes" ordering library materials and database subscriptions, computers and other equipment, and supervise the cataloging and physical processing of new materials. A Youth Services librarian, or children's librarian,

414-904: A degree in librarianship are law , management , health administration , or public administration . Despite the existence of doctoral programs existing to supplement a master's degree, the American Library Association considers a master's degree from an ALA accredited or approved program to be the terminal degree in the field. Library technicians , library assistants , and library associates (not to be confused with academic rank of assistant librarian or associate librarian) may have diplomas but usually do not hold library-related degrees. Occasionally they also hold undergraduate or graduate degrees in other disciplines. These workers, sometimes referred to as para-professionals , perform duties such as database management, library cataloging , ready reference, and serials and monograph processing. In

483-416: A diplomat and established Oxford's Bodleian library. He is credited as creating the first functional library of modern times. Subsequent librarians following Bodley were called Protobibliothecarius Bodleianus , Bodley's Librarian. They would earn £40 a year. The ideas formed with these librarians continued to develop into the 17th century. With the approach of Bibliotheca Universalis , libraries changed;

552-545: A discrete user group with a restricted collection area. In an increasingly global and virtual workplace, many special librarians may not even work in a library at all but instead manage and facilitate the use of electronic collections. Funding for special libraries varies widely. Librarians in some types of special libraries may be required to have additional training, such as a law degree for a librarian in an academic law library or appropriate subject degrees for subject specialties such as chemistry, engineering, etc. Many belong to

621-403: A label with painted tablets hung above the stored papyri. Pinakes was named after these tablets and are a set of index lists. The bins gave bibliographical information for every roll. A typical entry started with a title and also provided the author's name, birthplace, father's name, any teachers trained under, and educational background. It contained a brief biography of the author and a list of

690-596: A mild to moderate amount of secondary traumatic stress that develops from working closely with patients who are experiencing trauma. There are a number of contributing factors to the librarians’ roles changing. Basic categories of workplace settings for librarians are routinely classified around the world as: public, academic, school, and special. Some librarians will start and operate their own business. They often call themselves information brokers , research specialists, knowledge management , competitive intelligence , or independent information professionals. Below are

759-472: A profound impact on the resources and services that librarians of all kinds provide to their patrons. Electronic information has transformed the roles and responsibilities of librarians, even to the point of revolutionizing library education and service expectations. Specific duties vary depending on the size and type of library. Olivia Crosby described librarians as "Information experts in the information age." Most librarians spend their time working in one of

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828-418: A related credential. Experienced librarians may take administrative positions such as library or information center director or learning resource officer. Similar to the management of any other organization, they are concerned with the long-term planning of the library, and its relationship with its parent organization (the city or county for a public library, the college/university for an academic library, or

897-489: A school librarian's responsibilities. Often, teacher-librarians are qualified teachers who take academic courses for school library certification or earn a master's degree in Library Science. Special libraries are libraries designed to perform some specific function for a particular set of people or an organization, i.e. news, law, medical, theological, prison, corporate, or museum. They can be highly specialized, serving

966-506: A school library/media teacher, a member of a public library team, or a librarian in a penal institution. Licensing for library/media teacher includes a Bachelor or Master of Arts in Teaching and additional higher-level course work in library science. YA librarians who work in public libraries are expected to have a master's degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS), relevant work experience, or

1035-467: A significant impact on the changing roles of librarians. New technologies are dramatically increasing the accessibility of information, and librarians are adapting to the evolving needs of users that emerge from the adoption of these new technologies. Digital librarians have become ubiquitous in the Information Age, so much so that a new word has been coined for such digital curators: "cybrarian", which

1104-858: A subject field, followed by additional training in librarianship. In the United States and Canada, a librarian generally has a one or two-year (more common) master's degree in library science from an accredited university. This master's degree is obtained following graduation from a bachelor's degree program in any discipline. The Library Science master's degree is accredited by the American Library Association and can have specializations within fields such as archival studies , records management , information architecture , public librarianship, medical librarianship, law librarianship, special librarianship, academic librarianship, or school (K-12) librarianship. School librarians often are required to have

1173-509: A time of aristocratic enthusiasm for libraries. During this period, great private libraries were developed in Europe by figures such as Petrarch and Boccaccio . These libraries were sponsored by popes, royals, and nobility who sent agents throughout Western Europe to locate manuscripts in deteriorating monastic libraries. As a result, Renaissance libraries were filled with a wealth of texts. While materials in these libraries were mostly restricted,

1242-500: Is For Everyone (LIFE), Library & Information Student Section (LISS), Serving Adults in Libraries (SAIL), Social Responsibilities (SRRT), WA Library Employees (WALE), WA Library Trainers (WALT), and WA Library Friends, Foundations, Trustees, and Advocates (WLFFTA). This Washington -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article relating to a library organization, association, or consortium

1311-430: Is a portmanteau of the prefix " cyber- " (used to denote digital technology) and "librarian". The term "cybrarian" can be applied to someone who concerns themselves primarily with the role that technology plays in a traditional library setting. The term is also sometimes used for freelance information consultants . Pinakes The Pinakes ( Ancient Greek : Πίνακες 'tables', plural of πίναξ pinax )

1380-432: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Librarians The role of the librarian has changed much over time, with the past century in particular bringing many new media and technologies into play. From the earliest libraries in the ancient world to the modern information hub, there have been keepers and disseminators of the information held in data stores. Roles and responsibilities vary widely depending on

1449-565: Is a lost bibliographic work composed by Callimachus (310/305–240 BCE) that is popularly considered to be the first library catalog in the West; its contents were based upon the holdings of the Library of Alexandria during Callimachus's tenure there during the third century BCE. The Library of Alexandria had been founded by Ptolemy I Soter about 306 BCE. The first recorded librarian was Zenodotus of Ephesus. During Zenodotus' tenure, Callimachus, who

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1518-520: Is a main objective of professionals in this library specialty. Outreach librarians are charged with providing library and information services for underrepresented groups, such as people with disabilities, low-income neighborhoods, home bound adults and seniors, incarcerated and ex-offenders, and homeless and rural communities. In academic libraries, outreach librarians might focus on high school students, transfer students, first-generation college students, and minorities. Public service librarians work with

1587-1099: Is associated with collections of books , as demonstrated by the etymology of the word "librarian" (from the Latin liber , "book"). A 1713 definition of the word was "custodian of a library", while in the 17th century, the role was referred to as a "library-keeper", and a librarian was a "scribe, one who copies books". The role of a librarian is continually evolving to meet social and technological needs. A modern librarian may deal with provision and maintenance of information in many formats, including books ; electronic resources; magazines ; newspapers ; audio and video recordings ; maps; manuscripts ; photographs and other graphic material; bibliographic databases ; and Internet -based and digital resources. A librarian may also provide other information services, such as information literacy instruction; computer provision and training; coordination with community groups to host public programs; assistive technology for people with disabilities; and assistance locating community resources. The Internet has had

1656-631: Is considered to be the first subject catalog of the library holdings, called the pinakes . The pinakes contained 120 scrolls arranged into ten subject classes; each class was then subdivided, listing authors alphabetically by titles. The librarians at Alexandria were considered the "custodians of learning". Near the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire , it was common for Roman aristocrats to hold private libraries in their home. Many of these aristocrats, such as Cicero , kept

1725-459: Is in charge of serving young patrons from infancy all the way to young adulthood. Their duties vary, from planning summer reading programs to weekly story hour programs. They are multitaskers, as the children's section of a library may act as its own separate library within the same building. Children's librarians must be knowledgeable of popular books for school-aged children and other library items, such as e-books and audiobooks. They are charged with

1794-443: Is proposed that librarians experience a moderate degree of work-related stress, and is reported that many experience harassment or emotionally challenging situations in their daily work. The public library in particular can often be described as having an emotionally charged atmosphere. There is evidence to suggest that specialized librarians might experience similar conditions. For example, health science librarians report experiencing

1863-467: The Bibliotheca Universalis are important figures in librarianship. Gabriel Naudé published Avis pour dresser une bibliothèque , the first printed monograph on librarianship. In this monograph , Naudé advocated collecting all kinds of books, old and new, of famous, more obscure, and heretical authors. He also contributed to the idea of organization and administration of libraries which led to

1932-649: The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) and the World Health Organization . As of November 2021, the Librarian Reserve Corps has vetted over 60,000 publications relating to COVID-19 . The Librarian Reserve Corps founder, Elaine Hicks, and co-leadership Stacy Brody and Sara Loree, were awarded the 2021 Librarian of the Year title from Library Journal . Traditionally, a librarian

2001-754: The Special Libraries Association . There are also more specific associations such as the American Association of Law Libraries , Art Libraries Society of North America , the American Theological Library Association , the Medical Library Association , or the Visual Resources Association . Librarians generally hold a university degree in library science . It is also possible to earn

2070-399: The history of books and printing . It is common in academic and other research libraries to require the librarians to obtain master's degrees in some academic subject, sometimes but not necessarily related to their professional responsibilities; in major research libraries, some of the librarians will hold PhD degrees in subject fields. Other advanced degrees often taken in conjunction with

2139-547: The 'scheme of the great bookshelves'. In 195 BCE Aristophanes of Byzantium , Eratosthenes' successor, was the librarian and updated the Pinakes , although it is also possible that his work was not a supplement of Callimachus' Pinakes themselves, but an independent polemic against, or commentary upon, their contents. The collection at the Library of Alexandria contained nearly 500,000 papyrus scrolls, which were grouped together by subject matter and stored in bins. Each bin carried

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2208-406: The 14th century, universities began to reemerge which had libraries and employed librarians. At the same time royalty, nobles and jurists began to establish libraries of their own as status symbols. King Charles V of France began his own library, and he kept his collection as a bibliophile , an attribute that is closely connected to librarians of this time. The Renaissance is considered to be

2277-431: The 18th century, the professionalization of the library role was a 19th-century development, as shown by its first training school, its first university school, and its first professional associations and licensing procedures. In England in the 1870s, a new employment role opened for women in libraries; it was said that the tasks were "Eminently Suited to Girls and Women." By 1920, women and men were equally numerous in

2346-689: The Conservative government began replacing professional librarians with unpaid volunteers in 2015–2016. During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in 2020, many librarians were temporarily displaced as libraries across the country were affected by a nationwide shutdown in efforts to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 disease. During this time, library services were in high demand as patrons were stuck inside during quarantine, but with limited building access, most public library patrons switched to digital content, online learning, and virtual programs. As

2415-470: The Greek classicists . During this period, the lectern system, in which books were chained to desks for security, was also introduced. Classification and organization of books during this period was generally done by subject and alphabetically, with materials inventoried using basic check lists. Later in the period, individuals known as librarius began more formal cataloguing, inventory, and classification. In

2484-574: The United Kingdom, a librarian can have a three- or four-year bachelor's degree in library science; separate master's degrees in librarianship, archive management, and records management are also available. These degrees are accredited by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals and the Society of Archivists . In Germany, the first step for an academic librarian is a PhD in

2553-584: The annual Beta Phi Mu Award . In Australia, a professional librarian must meet the requirements set out by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). There are three ways in which these requirements can be met: the individual must obtain an ALIA-recognized bachelor's degree in library and information studies, complete a first degree in any discipline followed by an ALIA-recognized postgraduate diploma or masters course, or gain an ALIA-recognized library technician qualifications (undertaken at

2622-444: The author's publications. The entry had the first line of the work, a summary of its contents, the name of the author, and information about the origin of the roll, as well as any doubts about the genuineness of the ascription. Callimachus' system divided works into six genres and five sections of prose: rhetoric, law, epic, tragedy, comedy, lyric poetry, history, medicine, mathematics, natural science, and miscellanies. Each category

2691-438: The basic differences between the types of libraries. Public libraries are created through legislation within the jurisdiction they serve. Accordingly, they are given certain benefits, such as taxpayer funding, but must adhere to service standards and meet a wide group of client needs. They are usually overseen by a board of directors or library commission from the community. Mission statements, service and collection policies are

2760-530: The books, but should also be well educated and accomplished to raise the standards of librarianship. Furthermore, he advocated that librarians deserve a living wage in order to use their energy to perform their duties to the fullest extent. Gottfried Leibniz upheld that the librarian was the most important factor in the aid of learning. He is credited as including science texts in addition to conventional literature within library collections. Another key figure of this time, Sir Thomas Bodley , gave up his career as

2829-400: The content of libraries became less selective, to include literature of entertainment as well as academic value. At this time, libraries also became fully open to the public, with access no longer restricted to a small circle of readers. In 18th-century France, two librarians, Hubert-Pascal Ameilhon and Joseph Van Praet , selected and identified over 300,000 books and manuscripts that became

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2898-410: The contents of their private libraries to themselves, only boasting of the enormity of his collection. Others, such as Lucullus , took on the role of lending librarian by sharing scrolls in their collection. Many Roman emperors included public libraries into their political propaganda to win favor from citizens. While scholars were employed in librarian roles in the various emperors' libraries, there

2967-448: The crisis escalated, there was a high demand for contact tracers , and the CDC had earlier named librarians as key public health staff to support COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing, so many librarians and library staff volunteered to help with contact tracing. Librarians also supported their community in other ways, such as staffing non-emergency hotlines and manning shelters for

3036-572: The databases that libraries license from third-party vendors. School librarians work in school libraries and perform duties as teachers, information technology specialists, and advocates for literacy. Instruction librarians teach information literacy skills in face-to-face classes or through the creation of online learning objects. They instruct library users on how to find, evaluate, and use information effectively. They are most common in academic libraries. Media specialists teach students to find and analyze information, purchase books and other resources for

3105-473: The death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, was created to house the entirety of Greek literature . It was notable for its famous librarians: Demetrius , Zenodotus , Eratosthenes , Apollonius , Aristophanes , Aristarchus , and Callimachus . These scholars contributed significantly to the collection and cataloging of the wide variety of scrolls in the library's collection. Most notably, Callimachus created what

3174-432: The development of library collections. It was also in part thanks to Naudé that some libraries began to lend books outside of the precincts of the library. John Dury is considered to be the first English library theorist. He wrote two letters to Samuel Hartlib concerning the duties of a professional librarian, which were published in 1650 as "The Reformed Librarie-Keeper". He held that librarians should not only care for

3243-485: The fall of the Roman Empire. It is during this time that the first codex (book as opposed to scroll) enters popularity: the parchment codex . Within the monasteries, the role of librarian was often filled by an overseer of the scriptorium where monks would copy out books cover to cover. A monk named Anastasias who took on the title of Bibliothecarius (literally "librarian") following his successful translations of

3312-421: The following areas of a library: Archivists can be specialized librarians who deal with archival materials, such as manuscripts, documents and records, though this varies from country to country, and there are other routes to the archival profession. Collection development or acquisitions librarians monitor the selection of books and electronic resources. Large libraries often use approval plans, which involve

3381-598: The fundamental administrative features of public libraries. Occasionally, private lending libraries serve the public in the manner of public libraries. In the United States, public librarians and public libraries are represented by the Public Library Association . Public library staffing is structured in response to community needs. Libraries bridge traditional divisions between technical and public services positions by adopting new technologies such as mobile library services and reconfigure organizations depending on

3450-690: The homeless, for which they were able to retain their income, while others were furloughed for a time. The Librarian Reserve Corps was formed during the COVID-19 pandemic . It was a global network of volunteer librarians, specializing in academic libraries and medical libraries , serving as "information first responders" in the fight against the Infodemic as a direct result of COVID-19 pandemic . The Librarian Reserve Corps Literature Enhancement and Metadata Enrichment (LIME) volunteers, led by Jessica Callaway, vetted, indexed, and helped disseminate resources about COVID-19 to various organizations, including

3519-447: The information they need, through a structured conversation called a reference interview . The help may take the form of research on a specific question, providing direction on the use of databases and other electronic information resources; obtaining specialized materials from other sources; or providing access to and care of delicate or expensive materials. These services are sometimes provided by other library staff that have been given

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3588-880: The institution, the library may serve a particular faculty or the entire institution. Many different types, sizes, and collections are found in academic libraries and some academic librarians are specialists in these collections and archives. A university librarian , or chief librarian, is responsible for the library within the college structure, and may also be called the Dean of Libraries or Director of Libraries. Some post-secondary institutions treat librarians as faculty, and they may be called professor or other academic ranks, which may or may not increase their salary and benefits. Some universities make similar demands of academic librarians for research and professional service as are required of faculty. Academic librarians administer various levels of service and privilege to faculty, students, alumni, and

3657-449: The librarian for a specific subject creating a profile that allows publishers to send relevant books to the library without any additional vetting . Librarians can then see those books when they arrive and decide if they will become part of the collection or not. All collections librarians also have a certain amount of funding to allow them to purchase books and materials that don't arrive via approval. Electronic resources librarians manage

3726-509: The libraries were open to the public. Librarians were needed to plan and organize libraries to meet public needs. A tool to achieve these organizational goals, the first library catalog , appeared in 1595. During the 16th century, the idea of creating a Bibliotheca Universalis , a universal listing of all printed books, emerged from well-established academics and librarians: Conrad Gessner , Gabriel Naudé , John Dury , and Gottfried Leibniz . The four librarians responsible for establishing

3795-739: The library profession, but women pulled ahead by 1930 and comprised 80% by 1960. The factors accounting for the transition included the demographic losses of the First World War, the provisions of the Public Libraries Act of 1919, the library-building activity of the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, and the library employment advocacy of the Central Bureau for the Employment of Women. In the United Kingdom, evidence suggests that

3864-465: The local situation. An academic library is a library that is an integral part of a college, university, or other institution of postsecondary education, administered to meet the information and research needs of its students, faculty, and staff. In the United States, the professional association for academic libraries and librarians is the Association of College and Research Libraries . Depending upon

3933-404: The organization served by a special library ). In smaller or specialized libraries, librarians typically perform a wide range of the different duties. Representative examples of librarian responsibilities: As user and community needs change over time, the role of the librarian continues to reflect these changes. Librarians assist and interact with vulnerable or at-risk populations regularly. It

4002-544: The property of the people in the Bibliothèque Nationale . During the French Revolution, librarians assumed sole responsibility for selecting books for use by all citizen of the nation. Out of this action came the implementation of the concept of modern library service: the democratic extension of library services to the general public, regardless of wealth or education. While there were full-time librarians in

4071-535: The public, frequently at the reference desk of lending libraries. Some specialize in serving adults or children. Children's librarians provide appropriate material for children at all age levels, include pre-readers, conduct specialized programs and work with the children (and often their parents) to help foster interest and competence in the young reader. (In larger libraries, some specialize in teen services, periodicals , or other special collections.) Reference or research librarians help people doing research to find

4140-497: The public. A school library exclusively serves the needs of a public or private school. The primary purpose is to support the students, teachers, and curriculum of the school or school district. In addition to library administration, certificated teacher-librarians instruct individual students, groups and classes, and faculty in effective research methods, often referred to as information literacy skills. Audio-visual equipment service and/or textbook circulation may also be included in

4209-408: The school library, supervise library assistants, and are responsible for all aspects of running the library/media center. Both library media teachers (LMTs) and young adult public librarians order books and other materials that will interest their young adult patrons. They also must help YAs find relevant and authoritative Internet resources. Helping this age group to become lifelong learners and readers

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4278-413: The task of creating a safe and fun learning environment outside of school and the home. A young adult or YA librarian specifically serves patrons who are between 12 and 18 years old. Young adults are those patrons that look to library services to give them direction and guidance toward recreation, education, and emancipation. A young adult librarian could work in several different institutions; one might be

4347-403: The type of library, the specialty of the librarian, and the functions needed to maintain collections and make them available to its users. Education for librarianship has changed over time to reflect changing roles. The Sumerians were the first to train clerks to keep records of accounts. "Masters of the books" or "keepers of the tablets" were scribes or priests who were trained to handle

4416-928: The vast amount and complexity of these records. The extent of their specific duties is unknown. Sometime in the 8th century BC, Ashurbanipal , King of Assyria , created a library at his palace in Nineveh in Mesopotamia . Ashurbanipal was the first individual in history to introduce librarianship as a profession. We know of at least one "keeper of the books" who was employed to oversee the thousands of tablets on Sumerian and Babylonian materials, including literary texts; history; omens ; astronomical calculations; mathematical tables; grammatical and linguistic tables; dictionaries; and commercial records and laws. All of these tablets were cataloged and arranged in logical order by subject or type, each having an identification tag. The Great Library of Alexandria , created by Ptolemy I after

4485-595: Was alphabetized by author. Callimachus composed two other works that were referred as pinakes and were probably somewhat similar in format to the Pinakes (of which they "may or may not be subsections" ), but were concerned with individual topics. These are listed by the Suda as: A Chronological Pinax and Description of Didaskaloi from the Beginning and Pinax of the Vocabulary and Treatises of Democritus . The term pinax

4554-673: Was merged with the newly formed Pacific Northwest Library Association . It was briefly organized as the Puget Sound Library Association and then re-established in its current form with its first meeting on June 30, 1932. The WLA has published an academic journal called Alki since 1983. WLA has four divisions: Academic, Public, School, and Special. WLA also has eleven interest-based sections, Collection Development & Technical Services (CATS), Children's and Young Adult Services (CAYAS), College Libraries Across Washington State (CLAWS), Intellectual Freedom Section (IFS), Leadership

4623-473: Was never the head librarian, compiled many catalogues/lists, each called Pinakes . His most famous one listed authors and their works; thus he became the first known bibliographer and the scholar who organized the library by authors and subjects about 245 BCE. His work was 120 volumes long. Apollonius of Rhodes was the successor to Zenodotus. Eratosthenes of Cyrene succeeded Apollonius in 235 BCE and compiled his tetagmenos epi teis megaleis bibliothekeis ,

4692-413: Was no specific office or role that qualified an individual to be a librarian. For example, Pompeius Macer, the first librarian of Augustus' library, was a praetor , an office that combined both military and judicial duties. A later librarian of the same library was Gaius Julius Hyginus , a grammarian . Christian monasteries in Europe are credited with keeping the institution of libraries alive after

4761-461: Was used for bibliographic catalogs beyond Callimachus. For example, Ptolemy-el-Garib 's catalog of Aristotle 's writings comes to us with the title Pinax (catalog) of Aristotle's writings . The Pinakes proved indispensable to librarians for centuries, and they became a model for organizing knowledge throughout the Mediterranean . Their later influence can be traced to medieval times, even to

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