Selçuk University Journal of Faculty of Letters

Abstract

Writing has been the whole collection of signs and symbols and a regular indication of what people think, what they can express. In this article, the birth of ancient writing and book is handled
with its formation process. Writing was invented by Sumerians around 3200 B.C. in the Mesopotamia. Sumerian writing emerged due to economic necessities. Clay tablets used as writing material in the Asia Minor and Anatolia were the book format of clay. The basic book shapes in ancient age were the roll, being the book format of papyrus, and the codex, being the book format of parchment. On the other hand, as a result of the increasing economic and cultural relations in the ancient age, written documents had to be preserved, and thus archives and
libraries showed up. From this point of view, the formation process of the ancient age library has also been examined in this paper. Contributions of these ancient formations to the present education were interpreted in the following way: the main elements of the education was born in ancient age and continued its development until today. Institutions that provide education, namely the system of school, the birth and existence of books and libraries and many other elements as important education tools are based on the ancient civilizations. On the other hand, writing that was invented in ancient age period carries great importance for both the history of mankind and the education world. Writing instruments are the most widely used tools used in the education environment. In short, the formation of writing, book and library has had a huge impact and significance in both past and present.