Inception of the Vatican Library

Hello! This is my second blog post on the Vatican City Library.

All has been well! This week I've been focusing on the building and inception of the library itself. I have also included the rebuilding of the Vatican City library as it is a major milestone in it's past (and near present) history.

I have been using the website:

http://www.vaticanlibrary.va/home.php?pag=dipartimento_stampati&ling=eng

as a chief source of findings for the history. It is somewhat an "official" website to it's collections. In particular the "About" section may be brief but it also has the most up to date and correct information on the introduction of the Vatican Library.

There is only supporting evidence to suggest a type of library system began somewhere in the early part of the Roman Empire.

"From the fourth century onwards there is evidence of the Scrinium of the Roman Church, which was both a library and an archive." 

Vaticanlibrary.va (2012). BAV - Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. [online] Available at: http://www.vaticanlibrary.va/home.php[Accessed: 9 August 2012].

As it suggests, it wasn't quite a library, but a place of historical documents.
Hard research however (which is also agreed upon by most critics and historians) have concluded that the coming of the library itself at the Vatican in it's proper state began in the 14th century, that is, the Renaissance period.

"The Vatican Library began during the Renaissance... . In the 14th century, the seat of papal rule had been moved from Rome to Avignon, in southern France, but by the late 14th century the authority of the papal government was re-established in Rome and became the papal states. It was soon after this that Pope Nicholas V (1447-55) set out to build a new Rome. His plan to build extensive public works to provide both physical defences for the Church and to lure pilgrims and scholars began a transformation of the city."

Capping.slis.ualberta.ca (2005) History of the Vatican Library. [online] Available at: http://capping.slis.ualberta.ca/cap05/debbie/history.html [Accessed: 9 Sep 2012].  

With research from Wikipedia, the rebuilding of the library began on July 2007 in which it was closed of to the public, and reopened on September 2010. There was a number of fixes, rebuilding and refurbishment to the library.

En.wikipedia.org (2007) Vatican Library - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Library [Accessed: 9 Sep 2012].  

I have also found a series of pictures that show the refurbishment of the library, specifically, the "Reader's Lifts" and the main part of the building. This is an example of the lift being re-done.

BAV - Vatican Library (2009) Elevators (beginning of works). [image online] Available at: http://www.vaticanlibrary.va/home.php?pag=fotogallery_art_00004&ling=eng [Accessed: 9 September 2012].

As part of my plan, I wished to find information on the history of the owners of the library since it began. I have found this information at the official Wikipedia article as well as the BAV site I have referenced before. They list all the head librarians from the first being Marcello Cervini to Jean Louis Brugues.

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Research for these findings involved me looking over the web and pouring over it's information. The information itself isn't hard to find once finding the right source, however finding the source in the first place proves difficult. Most books and texts I come across are outdated, especially when it comes to the actual inception and history of the Vatican City Library. There is no estimated date; it's a rough figure and new theories always pop up from time to time supporting new evidence and claims that even though the general census is that it started in the 14 century, evidence disproves this time and time again.
I like finding this kind of information. It puts a spin on what we perceive as already proven history, and what hasn't been properly explored and found information.

I'm learning how to blog, citing references, making a structured post. It's all very informative, fun and challenging all at the same time!

Sources:

Vatican Collections Online Website/4th century quote
Vaticanlibrary.va (2012). BAV - Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. [online] Available at: http://www.vaticanlibrary.va/home.php[Accessed: 9 August 2012].

Picture source
BAV - Vatican Library (2009) Elevators (beginning of works). [image online] Available at: http://www.vaticanlibrary.va/home.php?pag=fotogallery_art_00004&ling=eng [Accessed: 9 September 2012].

History of the Vatican Library: Inception and Beginning quote.
Capping.slis.ualberta.ca (2005) History of the Vatican Library. [online] Available at: http://capping.slis.ualberta.ca/cap05/debbie/history.html [Accessed: 9 Sep 2012]. 

Wikipedia article containing list of cardinals/head librarians and refurbishment details
En.wikipedia.org (2007) Vatican Library - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Library [Accessed: 9 Sep 2012].