Talk:Library

Library systemLibrary system was merged into this article. The discussion was closed on 7 December 2024 with a consensus to merge. The original page is now a redirect to this article. Its history now serves to provide attribution for the content in this article, and it must not be deleted as long as this article exists.

Library branchLibrary branch was merged into this article. The discussion was closed on 7 December 2024 with a consensus to merge. The original page is now a redirect to this article. Its history now serves to provide attribution for the content in this article, and it must not be deleted as long as this article exists.

The content of Multimedia library was merged into Library on 21 February 2025. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists. For the discussion at that location, see its talk page.

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— Preceding unsigned comment added by FutureInfoPro (talk • contribs) 15:59, 14 October 2011 (UTC)Reply

The lede section of the article states "A library is a curated collection of sources of information and similar resources, selected by experts and made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing, often in a quiet environment conducive to study" However, Webster's Dictionary defines a library as "a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (such as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for sale; a collection of such materials." It would appear that the dictionary definition is more authoritative than the relatively weak citations given, especially considering the fact that the article contains no disambiguation qualifiers such as "Library (accademic)" etc. Psychstudent007 (talk) 22:26, 17 April 2020 (UTC)Reply

I don't see what the problem is. There is a disambiguation link in the hatnote. Dictionary definitions may differ, and you haven't provided a good reason why we should consider the definition that you quoted to be especially authoritative. The definition that you quoted seems to me to be close in meaning to the current first sentence in the article, and you haven't explained why you prefer it. Biogeographist (talk) 22:39, 17 April 2020 (UTC)Reply

Hi! I merged the two duplicate sections and removed information that is better suited to the digital library article itself. Aiue (talk) 14:46, 12 October 2023 (UTC)Reply

The redirect Libry has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2023 December 6 § Libry until a consensus is reached. Utopes _{(talk / cont)} 07:17, 6 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

The world’s oldest known library is the ancient library of Ebla which dates back to 2500 – 2250 BCE. It predates the library of Ashurbanipal. It is rather strange why that’s not mentioned in the history section.

Sources:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/25541212.pdf?acceptTC=true

“The discovery of the ancient library of Ebla is much more recent than. Assurbanipal's, though the library itself is much more ancient”

https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/edcoll/9789004305069/B9789004305069_006.xml

Whatsupkarren (talk) 09:44, 8 December 2023 (UTC)Reply

Hey, I don't really understand what you're saying - could you put your request in a "Change x to y" format? Or has the article already been edited to your satisfaction?

JuxtaposedJacob (talk) | :) | he/him | 23:38, 7 December 2024 (UTC)Reply

@Whatsupkarren

JuxtaposedJacob (talk) | :) | he/him | 23:38, 7 December 2024 (UTC)Reply

I posted this in the Public library but it does apply for other library articles as well. I am concerned that folks are choosing the photos of Western libraries that represent the best libraries with the best high-tech, while choosing "quant" library photos from non-Western counties that are not their best libraries or most high-tech services but perpetuate the myth of backwardness. We can do better. Myotus (talk) 15:58, 29 April 2024 (UTC)Reply

The redirect Liberry has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2024 September 17 § Liberry until a consensus is reached. Jalen Barks (Woof) 12:33, 17 September 2024 (UTC)Reply

Hello, Having just merged Library branch and Library system here, I was wondering what we should do with Library consortium and List of library consortia? I think the linking between the two articles is weak, so if nothing else, we should increase that. However, I think a better solution would be to, at the very least, merge the list into the library consortium article, and define better the inclusion criteria. Not sure. JuxtaposedJacob (talk) | :) | he/him | JuxtaposedJacob (talk) | :) | he/him | 23:15, 7 December 2024 (UTC)Reply

Yes I agree the linking is weak, definitely any improvement of that would be great, merging wouldn't improve it too much. I don't see much value in the list of library consortia (but don't think it should be gone! perhaps it would be useful to someone googling for a list I dunno). Both articles are very USA dominant though, perhaps needs an overhaul of clearer copywriting, I would be interested in researching the landscape in Europe. Rhagfyr (talk) 17:58, 8 December 2024 (UTC)Reply

Google Ngram: link

What if we moved consortia -> system, @Rhagfyr? I totally understand if not, but was just thinking about this earlier. JuxtaposedJacob (talk) | :) | he/him | 20:22, 30 December 2024 (UTC)Reply

With the current content the library consortium article is quite long and Library/Types/Library System is only a short paragraph under types in the main Library article, in fact I think there also needs to be a Library Consortia paragraph there, perhaps neatly after System with a link out to the main article and the list of consortia. Consortia and systems share some similar aspects but are quite different entities as consortia can be stock/acquisitions based networks and not just strictly top down management Rhagfyr (talk) 14:00, 2 January 2025 (UTC)Reply

I have merged the Media library article to Library#Media_libraries. I mostly took information from the French article for Médiathèque. If anyone wants to expand this section it would be a great source to start.--Jimmyjrg (talk) 17:34, 21 February 2025 (UTC)Reply

Thank you! JuxtaposedJacob (talk) | :) | he/him | 19:39, 21 February 2025 (UTC)Reply

Is there ever a branch library that is not a Public Library? That seems out of place. I also feel like that whole page (Public Library) is better off being broken apart into History of the Public Library, with the remainder merged back here. Shy of the encyclopedic value of the history of the public library, the rest denoted by "public" is merely a question of ownership. Evan Carroll (talk) 03:31, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Yes, there are library systems and branch libraries that are not public libraries. For example, many large universities have multi-branch library systems: Harvard Library lists 25 entries, Georgetown University Library 11, etc. Nikkimaria (talk) 03:36, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply