Libraries in the Ancient World (Yale University Press)

This work tells the story of Ancient libraries from their very beginnings, when "books" were clay tablets and writing was a new phenomenon. Classicist Lionel Casson takes us on a tour from the royal libraries of the Ancient Near East, through the private and public libraries of Greece and Rome, down to the first Christian monastic libraries. He explains what books were acquired and how, who read them, how they were organized, and more.