BBC Learning English: What Makes a Great Library?

Vocabulary and key facts from the BBC Learning English transcript regarding the history and definition of libraries.

Great Library of Alexandria

A library founded in ancient Egypt around $285~BCE$ which held the largest collection of books in the ancient world.

British Library

One of the largest libraries in the world, founded in $1973$ in central London, containing around $200~million$ books.

Andrew Pettegree

The author of the book 'A Fragile History of the Library' and a professor who defines a library as any collection of books deliberately put together by an owner.

Islam Issa

A history professor who explains that the Great Library of Alexandria served as a form of soft power and a regional capital of knowledge.

Paperback

A type of book with a cover made of thick paper that is sold relatively cheaply compared to a hardback book.

Painstakingly (or painfully)

An adverb used to describe doing something in a way that shows a lot of care and effort has been taken.

Harmony

A situation where people or different cultures cooperate and live together peacefully.

Knowledge equals power

An idiom meaning that the more a person knows, the more they will be able to control events.

Soft power

The use of political or cultural means and knowledge, rather than military power, to influence events and get what you want.

Shhh!

An exclamation used to ask someone for silence or to be quiet.

The Times ($1788$)

The first edition of this famous British newspaper which is held on the shelves of the British Library.