spaces were serving a small, educated portion of the community (Murray, 2009, p. 14). Athens developed a city archive at the Metroon in 405 BCE, where documents were stored in sealed jars. These would have saved the documents, but they would have been difficult to consult regularly. In Paros around the same time, contracts were placed in the temple for safe keeping, and a Book curse was placed for extra protection. Library of Alexandria The library at Alexandria, Egypt, was renowned in the third century BCE while kings Ptolemy I Soter and Ptolemy II Philadelphus reigned. The library included a museum, garden, meeting areas and of course reading rooms (Lyons, 2011, p. 26-27). The Great Library, as it is known, was one of many in Alexandria. Beginning at its inception through the first century BCE Alexandria was a well known center for learning, the quantity and quality of the libraries speak to this renown (Murray, 2009, p. 17). Alexandria was the intellectual capital of the Western world through the third century CE. According to a primary source, every ship that came to Alexandria was required to hand over their books to be copied, and the copies would be returned to the owner. The library would keep the original. The librarians at Alexandria collected, copied, and organized scrolls from all around. The Library of Alexandria was damaged by various disasters over time, including fire and earthquake. While there are popular stories about how the library was burned, most of these are more myth than fact. Libraries in Rome Julius Caesar and his successor Augustus were the first to establish public libraries in ancient Rome, including the library of Apollo on the Palatine Hill. Roman aristocrats also had personal libraries, which usually contained works in both Greek and Latin. The average Roman would not have been familiar with books. Libraries in the Middle Ages It wasn't until the Middle Ages that libraries became a part of culture. Many of these libraries were connected to a monastery or religious institution. Books could not be borrowed from these libraries and were generally chained to the shelves to prevent theft. During the Renaissance era, more people became educated and relied on libraries as a place to study and gain knowledge. During the Renaissance most of the text held in libraries were religious text. Libraries helped enrich the culture of those who were educated by providing