抄録
The library too is a changing institution. When mankind learnt how to write, birth of the library was promissed. As human attitude toward writing changed, the library too changed even if the name library or whatever name given to it has remained unchanged. Yet, the change has not been without a guiding principle. It has been a change toward fuller realization of what it has had within itself from the very day of its birth.
The author points out two main forces which have guided development of libraries. One is a drive or a force which lies in the library itself, while the other lies in mankind, that is, society of men. The one factor in the library is expressed by the word “Kokai Genri” or “Principle of USABILITY” by the author, while the other is called “Social Factors”.
With this daring hypothetical presupposition, the author tries to interprete the whole history of libraries. This particular study of the history of the libraries in the Roman Empire is his first step toward the enterprising attempt.
