Book collections and libraries in the Roman world

Literary and papyrological evidence regarding libraries and collections of books shows various places and cultural environments, as well as people involved or interested in the world of books: scholars, ‘intellectuals’, common readers, collectors, scribes, common people dealing with books for different reasons. The study of the extant sources – literary, as well as papyrological and archaeological ones – allows us to enter the world of ancient books and libraries, revealing places, centers of book-copying and book collections, dynamics of circulation of books, as well as their protagonists, people interested in copying, requesting and exchanging literary works