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Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.
Neil
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
Beth
And I'm Beth.
Neil
Shhh! Quiet please! I'm trying to read here, Beth!
Beth
Oh, excuse me! I didn't know this was a library.
Neil
Well, what exactly is a library? Have you ever thought about that?
Beth
Well, somewhere with lots of books I suppose, where you go to read or study.
Neil
A symbol of knowledge and learning, a place to keep warm in the winter, or somewhere to murder victims in a
crime novel: libraries can be all of these things, and more.
Beth
In this programme, we'll be looking into the hidden life of the library, including one of the most famous, the
Great Library of Alexandria, founded in ancient Egypt in around 285 BCE. And as usual, we'll be learning some
useful new vocabulary, and doing it all in a whisper so as not to disturb anyone!
Neil
Glad to hear it! But before we get out our library cards, I have a question for you, Beth. Founded in 1973 in
central London, the British Library is one of the largest libraries in the world, containing around 200 million
books. But which of the following can be found on its shelves. Is it:
a) the earliest known printing of the Bible?
b)
the first edition of The Times' newspaper from 1788? or,
c) the original manuscripts of the Harry Potter books?
Beth
I'II
guess it's the first edition of the famous British newspaper, 'The Times'.
Neil
OK, Beth, I'll reveal the answer at the end of the programme. Libraries mean different things to different people,
so who better to ask than someone who has written the book on it, literally. Professor Andrew Pettegree is the
author of a new book, 'A Fragile History of the Library'. Here he explains what a library means to him to BBC
Radio 3 programme, Art & Ideas:
Andrew Pettegree
Well, in my view, a library is any collection of books which is deliberately put together by its owner or patron.
So, in the 15th century a library can be 30 manuscripts painfully put together during the course of a lifetime, or
it can be two shelves of paperbacks in your home.
Beth
Andrew defines a library as any collection of books someone has intentionally built up. This could be as simple
as a few paperbacks, cheap books with a cover made of thick paper.
