The Library Research Process

Analyse Research Project


The Topic chosen is: The History of books in Ancient Library of Alexandria.

Therefore the keywords identified here are: History, books, ancient, Library of Alexandria. The general terms would be 'history' and 'books', then the research will narrow down to focus on 'Alexandrian library' and 'ancient' (as oppose to the newly developed modern Alexandrian Library in Egypt).

The focus of the research will be on:

• The Beginning:
  Who started the library and when? In what circumstances that the library started?


• The Development:
  The developmental processes and how the collections were obtained? The significance of the library. Why is the history of Alexandria important in the history of the books and developments of the library?


• The End:
  What happened to the library throughout the centuries?
  What happened to the library at the end of its life, and what happened to the collections?

The scope of the research and subject

The topic covers the ancient time and over a period of the centuries throughout the European and Middle-eastern political histories. However, as the history of the Alexandria Library lasted over various specific periods, it is important to focus on the geographic areas (i.e. the Middle-east, Egypt and near by areas) and the history associated with the area. That is, the history of wars and how these wars affected the development and the end of the Alexandrian library. It is an internationally-focused topic that may interest many readers. The research will have international connections and might have references which include other languages and scripts.