Writing in the ancient world was recognized as a powerful skill, scribes were a very important people and not many of them were found. Starting in Mesopotamian society, scribes were needed to send messages, convey news, take orders from the king, record laws, write religious texts, and much more, as well as entertain people with their readings. “The Mesopotamian scribes were an aristocratic elite, they had power in their hands.” (Manguel 180). In the past, textbooks were found in wealthier homes, not for the poor or common people. In the Christian era Irish scribes were also held to a high status. The penalty for killing an Irish scribe was equal to killing a bishop. In Babylon only a few elite people were trained to become scribes, and they were held to a higher status than the rest of society. In history it was important for the chosen scribes to do well in school and there is evidence that fathers bribed teachers to get good grades for their children (Manguel 181). Students would learn to make clay tablets and use a stylus, draw and recognize signs. The students were given a round clay tablet on which the teacher wrote a short sentence, a proverb or a list of names, the student studied it, turned the clay tablet and reproduced the writing. Becoming a reader and writer for the first time. Mesopotamian writing soon changed from pictographic to cuneiform. The signs took on sounds, it became easier to understand the text, which gave rise to a complex literature. The ancient Mesopotamians believed that birds were sacred because their footsteps on wet clay left marks that resembled cuneiform writing, and if they could decipher the marks, they would know what the… center of the paper… search for knowledge that thrived in the ancient library. The old library encouraged the public to discuss, create and invent. The new library is carrying on this legacy” (Mohsen Zahran). Works Cited Chesser, Preston. “The fire of the Library of Alexandria”. E. History. Ohio State University. 2014. Web. April 2014.Crystalinks. “Library of Alexandria Bibliotheca Alexandrina”. http://www.crystalinks.com/library of alexandria.html. 2014. Web. April 2014. Manguel, Alberto. A history of reading. New York. Penguin Books, 1996. Print.Staidos, Konstahtinow. “The great libraries: from antiquity to the Renaissance. Delaware. Oak Knoll Press. 2000. Print.Watson, Bruce. “Rising Sun”. Smithsonian magazine. April 2002. Web. April 2014. Whitehouse, David. “The Library of Alexandria discovered”. BBC News, Science/Nature. May 12, 2004. Web. April 2014.