Purpose – Mnemonics was a tool in classification and information seeking processes in pre-print
libraries. The purpose of this paper is to study the role of spatial mnemonics in Hellenistic libraries,
including the one in Alexandria.
Design/methodology/approach – Since library- and information science has not explored this
subject in depth, philology, rhetoric, book-history and archeology constitute the core literature. From
this literature, the role of mnemonics in the libraries is discussed.
Findings – A new description of the practice of classification and retrieval in Hellenistic libraries,
based on spatial mnemonics.
Originality/value – This paper is a new analysis of spatial mnemonics in the Hellenistic libraries.
As will become clear, they blend easily and logically with each other.
paper