Exercise 2. Read and translate the text

Libraries are established for the systematic collection, organization, preservation and dissemination of knowledge and information. It is very important for man to preserve and maintain the valuable knowledge and information contained in the books and documents because we want to preserve our knowledge and wisdom for the coming generations. By preserving the documents in a library this knowledge can be made available to others so that they can benefit from it. Establishment of libraries is not a new concept. The oldest library dates to around 2700 years ago in Nineveh which shows how long ago the concept of leaving a piece of your wisdom behind started being formed into the organized collection to preserve the work.

With the invention of printing press, it became easier to preserve and more libraries. Thus libraries acquired a great importance in the civilized society for education and research. Libraries play a vital role in the development of any society the knowledge in the form of printed documents. This led to the generation of a large number of books. The need for the preservation and dissemination of information led to the establishment of more by enhancing the cause of education and academic research. They cater to the information needs of thousands of peoples.

Libraries play an important part in the cultural development of a country. People have a desire to learn, they seek knowledge. Books satisfy this desire. Books should not be read only for pleasure. Reading books helps us in our education. We can find all kinds of books in the libraries: novels, biographies, fiction, short stories, books on travelling, technical books, magazines, books for children and so on. In some libraries we can find books in many foreign languages.

When a reader comes to a library for the first time he fills in his library card and the librarian helps him to choose something to read. The reader is allowed to borrow books for a certain number of days. The catalogues help the reader to find the books he needs. We should be careful with the books and not damage them in any way. We should not make notes in library books or dog's-ear the pages.

Reading rooms are open to all who wish to work there. Besides books we can get periodicals, newspaper files and magazines to read there. Readers come to reading rooms to study and prepare material for their reports or for their scientific work.