Who Invented Books? From the First Library to Virtual Bookshelf

Nowadays, literacy is often taken for granted by many. We find ourselves constantly surrounded by written language, which makes it easy to overlook the fact that not too long ago, the majority of people were simply unable to read or write. You might ask yourself questions, like who invented books and how the book publishing industry came to be.

With the evolution of technology, the role of the online book maker became pivotal in making books more accessible to the masses. Though physical books are still popular, in the 2020s we are transitioning from physical paper books to the realm of virtual libraries. Now you can replace your cumbersome book collection with a portable virtual bookshelf that fits right in your pocket, all without compromising on quality! Moving from ancient scrolls to digital age documents available to everyone is a fantastic achievement, and the technical progress keeps on accelerating.

But let's start from the beginning, and work our way through the history of the books together!

The History of Books

Books in Pre-history Era

By definition, history is essentially what has been documented in writing, the books are what defines history, and the era known as pre-history concludes once written sources become available. Books came into existence when individuals began penning their thoughts and ideas for others to peruse. When we ask who invented books, we first need to consider who invented writing - and many different civilizations did so independently of each other.

In the early stages, books did not resemble the codex format that we typically imagine as a "book." Instead, they originated as papyrus scrolls or even sacred texts inscribed on clay tablets. Unfortunately, only a small number of these ancient artifacts have managed to survive to this day.

In ancient times, the concept of paper books was unfamiliar; the likes of the ancient Egyptians and other civilizations relied on papyrus scroll rolls. Later on, book authors turned to parchment, a writing material derived from the delicate skin of young animals. The invention of the printing press and the entire printed book had to wait for millennia...

Hand-Copied Books in Ancient Times

In many ways, the story of books starts with the story of writing itself. For a long time, writing was mostly a backup - stories and knowledge still lived in people’s voices. Poems, legends, and religious texts were entrusted to human memory and passed on from master to student, be it a priest or a bard. However, it was only the more advanced cultures that embraced literacy and chose to inscribe these sacred texts onto tangible mediums. Most of the documents of that time were originally written just in case the priests weren't available and many believed in the superiority of human memory over the written runes.

Back then, most people simply couldn’t read or write. In ancient Egypt, it was an exclusive skill possessed by scribes and priests who meticulously transcribed religious texts using hieroglyphics. Books began as a way to store knowledge - and the early hieroglyphics began as images representing the words, and later, the syllables. For example, the sign for 'ox' was used in words that contained that syllable. For centuries, the writing system of ancient Egypt was seen as an enigmatic riddle, until the day when the hieroglyphics were finally deciphered.

Over an extensive period, ancient Egyptians shifted to various systems of writing. To establish a more efficient system for book publishing and allow for swifter reading, other civilizations had to develop more fluid writing systems. The Chinese writing system, for instance, still relies on syllabic writing, and many of the ideograms created in ancient times continue to be used today! Elsewhere, people developed alphabetic scripts, where symbols stood for individual sounds (or closely related ones).

In Ancient Rome, people began crafting the earliest mass-produced books. Specially educated, literate slaves were trained to transcribe what they heard from a person reading around onto a continuous roll of papyrus scrolls. While this method was not without flaws, it was the earliest example of the publishing industry and played a significant role in ensuring that many important books endured and survived to the present age.

First Libraries

Throughout centuries, writing held an aura of sanctity, and access to books was confined to the privileged elites. Most people didn’t read at all - whether for pleasure or to learn. However, the ancient Greeks, also known as Hellenes, played a pivotal role in changing this book's culture. They embarked on the practice of documenting poems such as the Illiad and the Odyssey. They also valued education for young men and tried to spread literacy among free citizens.

From Socrates to Aristotle, philosophers and poets emerged, leaving behind many important books. Centuries later, Arabic scholars copied many of these works, and Christian monks did the same - helping keep them from disappearing.

The pursuit of knowledge and the preservation of written works gradually led to the establishment of the first libraries. These early libraries became places where ideas could spread - and where books slowly started to reach beyond a small circle of elites.

A classic example is the Library of Alexandria in ancient Greece, built around the idea of collecting and safeguarding written works. Founded in the 3rd century BCE, this magnificent institution aimed to gather all the knowledge of the world under one roof. Scholars, researchers, and curious minds flocked to this renowned library, eager to explore its vast collection of scrolls and manuscripts. In many places, the first private libraries sprang up in the homes of wealthy patrons and scholars.

Later on, in the Middle Ages libraries held copies of ancient scrolls, religious writing with some works on proto-scientific natural philosophy. Monasteries kept their libraries, but rich people also held their own. The Malatestiana Library, founded in 1452 in Cesena in today's Italy is considered to be the first public library, thanks to the growing Renaissance culture of books and education. In the Islamic world, many public libraries were open to anyone, to propagate religious education.

Evolution of Books in Middle Ages

As the ancient world faded, scrolls gradually gave way to the codex - pages bound between covers, much closer to the "book" we recognize today. The codex offered more ease of browsing, and even in today's digital age, it remains the standard form of a book. Reading also got easier once punctuation became common - Roman texts were often written as a continuous stream, without things like periods or question marks.

During the medieval period in Europe, secular knowledge was not given high priority. Nevertheless, many secular writings of ancient philosophers and poets managed to endure through the diligent efforts of copyist monks. Living in seclusion from the rest of society, these monks devoted their lives to prayer, scholarly pursuits, and manual labor. Among their notable accomplishments was the creation of beautifully illustrated illuminated manuscripts, particularly of religious works like the Bible or theological commentaries.

Once universities took hold in medieval Europe, demand for books grew - and many copies were made mainly for students. Alongside religious and theological knowledge, students were required to study the classics, including the works of revered ancient authorities like Aristotle and Socrates. In a way, publishing was already taking shape long before the printing press arrived.

Arabic scholars played a crucial role in preserving vast amounts of ancient knowledge and disseminating it to Europe, often facilitated by Jewish merchants. Along with scholars such as Avicenna, the Islamic world also passed on Arabic numerals - numbers Europeans eventually adopted. Europe also learned how to make paper - a technique that developed in China and reached Europe a few centuries later.

The Invention of the Printing Press

Printing changed how knowledge spread and made large-scale book production possible. Some of the earliest printing methods appeared in China, where woodblock printing was used as early as the 2nd century CE. Printers would carve text or images into wooden blocks, ink them, and press them onto paper, over and over, to make copies. Diamond Sutra, a sacred Buddhist text, is considered to be the first book printed in the world, centuries ahead of the Gutenberg Bible.

By the 11th century, China had movable type, which made printing quicker and easier to scale. While the Middle Ages Europe still relied on illuminated manuscripts, the Chinese produced thousands of books printed per year. Because the characters could be rearranged and reused, printing became much faster and more efficient. Ideas like this set the stage for what Gutenberg would later do in Europe.

In the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, and inventor, introduced the printing press with movable type to Europe. We can't give the exact date, but the earliest books were printed before 1501. His invention revolutionized the production of books by enabling faster and more cost-effective replication of texts. Gutenberg's printing press used individual metal letterforms that could be arranged, inked, and pressed onto paper, offering a significant improvement over the laborious process of hand-copying manuscripts. The first published book was the Bible, in Latin translation. Apart from the Gutenberg bible, the first printed books in Europe included other religious texts - which gave way to the Protestant Reformation.

It didn't take long for other books to be printed, outside of religious work. The secular book publishing industry flourished - with historical books, fairy tales, calendars, and encyclopedias. The literacy rate rose in the next two hundred years from around 10% to about 60% in England. Oxford University Press, tied to an established university began to print books not just for the students. In Islamic countries, due to a specific system of writing and resistance from religious scribes, the Arabic movable type developed only later in the 18th century.

The flourishing industry and industrial revolution required abandoning parchment and shifting to paper. Paper is a natural material - wasps build their nests from chewed wooden pulp. What's important is that new steam paper mills were invented and mass-produced books began to be popular even among the commoners.

Another notable advancement in printing technology occurred in the late 19th century with the invention of the Linotype machine. Ottmar Mergenthaler’s Linotype sped everything up by letting operators "type" lines on a keyboard, which the machine then cast in metal as a single strip of text. Paired with steam-powered presses, it turned typesetting into something far faster and far less manual.

Book Publishing Industry in the Modern Era

In the 19th century, more and more people became literate, in part due to growing and developing educational systems. One important change was the invention of the typewriter, which made it easy for people to write and print their documents.

The 1970s and 80s saw the arrival of personal computers and home computers. Word processors and printers came out, which changed the way documents were made and put together even more. When word processing software came out, people could write, edit, and format texts on their computers. Computer-based word processors could also serve as DTP software allowing someone to write and print out their books. Thanks to mimeographs or Xerox, you could distribute your own printed book or zine anywhere.

With the rise of desktop publishing and online virtual libraries in the 21st century, these changes were made available to a larger number of people. People could design and lay out their books, magazines, newsletters, and other publications with desktop publishing software, and publish them online with a single click. This opened up publishing to more people and made it easier and cheaper for authors and small publishers to get their work out to the public. You can learn more about the basics of the self-publishing industry in our guide.

Another new idea that came out of this time was hypertext. Hypertext made it possible to move through connected texts in ways other than in order, making information more accessible and easier to find. Now, readers could easily move from one section or chapter to another, getting the information they needed quickly and easily.

Also, the Internet has had a huge impact on how books are made and sold. The costs of making, storing, and sending things have gone down a lot because of the Internet. Now, authors can self-publish their works digitally and reach readers all over the world without the help of gatekeepers in traditional publishing. Online marketplaces and e-commerce platforms have made it even easier to sell and distribute digital and print-on-demand books. This gives readers more access to books and more options.

Project Gutenberg, named after the German inventor of the printing press, aims to preserve books in the public domain, using the digital format. Thanks to various initiatives like this, you could say that the Internet is the largest library in the world, larger than the British Library and Library of Congress.

The Birth of Digital Books

E-books have become a prominent feature of the 21st-century book landscape, transforming the way people read and access written content. One of the key players in the e-book industry is Amazon, with its widely popular Kindle e-reader and e-book platform. The introduction of e-books has brought numerous advantages to readers, including the convenience of carrying an entire virtual library in a single device.

E-books existed before Kindle, and there were many similar devices. A particular book can be either in EPUB format or in MOBI, suited for Kindle. You can read more about what is EPUB in our guide.

In addition to the Kindle e-reader, Amazon's e-book platform has provided a platform for self-published authors to reach a wide audience. With Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), writers can publish and distribute e-books on their own - making it easier for newcomers to get their work in front of readers. It gave writers a direct route to readers worldwide, and readers ended up with far more choice - across every genre you can think of.

After that, platforms like Publuu introduced the concept of interactive flipbooks, which offer a dynamic and engaging reading experience. It still lived online, but it felt less like a plain e-book and more like flipping through a real book (see the example below).

Publuu’s online flipbook example

View more online flipbook examples

With flipbooks, e-books came to life with interactive features such as embedded videos, animated gifs, clickable links, and interactive animations. Another plus is that they work smoothly across devices - computers, tablets, and smartphones. This accessibility ensures that readers can enjoy the interactive features and rich content of e-books anytime, anywhere.

New Kind of Library - Virtual Bookshelf

The most recent invention in the history of books is without a doubt Virtual Bookshelf. It lets publishers and authors build a digital library that actually looks like a collection, not just a folder of files. With Publuu, you can pick a shelf style, tweak the layout, and present your flipbooks in a way that feels organized and on-brand.

Instead of a plain list of links, you get something that feels like a bookshelf. Publishers can move covers around, choose a layout, and add a background or theme that matches the look they’re going for.

Virtual Bookshelf is not only an attractive display of flipbooks but also provides convenient access to the entire collection. Readers can easily navigate through the bookshelf, view cover images, and tap flipbooks they want to read further. Because it’s easy to use, people are more likely to click around, open flipbooks, and spend time exploring the shelf.

For now, that’s where this story leaves off - but it’s safe to say the next chapter is still being written.

Summary

From clay tablets to e-books, the story of the book is a long one - and it’s full of big shifts along the way. From clay tablets and sacred texts to the printing press, people kept finding better ways to record, copy, and pass on what they knew. Libraries grew into hubs for learning, and the codex gradually replaced scrolls - making books easier to handle, browse, and read.

Printing made books easier to produce, so they spread. More people could afford them, and more people learned to read. Then the internet and e-books made it even simpler - books became something you can grab instantly. Tools like Publuu push digital reading a step further with interactive flipbooks - easy to open and share like an e-book, but closer to the "page-turning" feel people associate with print.

While traditional books are still popular, books of the future will be unquestionably multimedia, often existing as a combination of music, words, and graphics on a computer screen.

You may be also interested in:
10 Creative Comic Strip Ideas
How to Make a Recipe Book? A Complete Guide