Book excerpt: Libraries are treasure house of human knowledge. The holdings of libraries, archives, and museums are the priceless heritage of mankind. Libraries are among other things, the conservation of Civilization. It was the Monastic libraries that held and protected the archives of our Civilization through the dark ages until we were again ready to use them. The Libraries of different hues that have existed from a long past to support and promote access to information and its preservation for posterity offer ample evidence to the fact. Libraries identify, acquire, preserve, and provide access to the world's published knowledge.