The First Library Rules: The Inscription of Pantainos in Ancient Athens

The First Library Rules: The Inscription of Pantainos in Ancient Athens

Ancient library regulations: The Pantainos inscription of ancient Athens. Public Domain The Library of Pantainos, a significant cultural and educational institution in Roman Athens, had perhaps the earliest known inscription in the world which laid out rules for the visitors. “No book is to be taken out. Open from the first hour until the sixth,” the marble inscription reads, suggesting that it functioned as a reference library rather than a len…