February is National Library Lovers Month, and it’s the perfect time for those who love libraries to show up and show the appreciation they deserve. For most people, libraries are portals not only to knowledge but also to culture.

They allow readers to be swept away to any fictional place or to any place and time in history. However, that’s only the beginning of the services they offer. They also give people access to the internet, educational materials, scientific publications, periodicals, and much more.

They provide so much to all of us, yet ask for almost nothing in return. Maybe it’s time we actually thought about what our communities would be like without the services offered by the local library.

The History of Libraries

Even though we attempted to uncover the history of National Library Lovers Month, we were unable to find out who started it or when it was invented. What we did find out, however, was the history of libraries throughout human history. And it’s this information that we’re going to share with everyone right now.

After all, it’s pretty fascinating. The first systematically organized library was created in the 7th century BCE by the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal in the ancient city of Nineveh in Upper Mesopotamia — which is now northern Iraq.

This library contained around 30,000 cuneiform tablets that were all organized by their subject matter. There were works of literature, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, but there were also scholarly and archival documents.

Throughout the millennia, libraries have sprung up wherever civilization has flourished. One of the most famous ancient libraries in the world was the Library of Alexandria in Egypt. This library contained over 700,000 documents that were collected from Egypt, India, Greece, and Persia.

Observing National Library Lovers Month

The only real way to observe this month is by taking the time to show your public library a little bit of love. This can easily be done by simply using their services, volunteering your time, or making a donation. This is also a good month to encourage local leaders to support the public library to ensure that it remains in operation for years to come.

Of course, there are also some fun ways of observing National Library Lovers Month. You can check out some books to read or even write your own story. And you can circulate this month around the internet using the hashtag #NationalLibraryLoversMonth on social media.