Library of B'etqa
 | This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
| Library of B'etqa | |
|---|---|
The library viewed at night | |
| General information | |
| Status | Tourist Attraction |
| Location | Yvaf'i |
| Country | Assumptaria |
| Named for | Scholar B'etqa |
| Construction started | 28th October 1228 |
| Completed | 29th August 1241 |
| Opened | 1st September 1241 |
| Renovated | 5th May 1348 |
| Closed | 1852 |
| Client | Assumptarian Government |
| Owner | Assumptarian Government |
| Height | 71m |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2 |
| Floor area | 60,000 m2 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Scholar B'etqa |
| Engineer | Scholar B'etqa |
| Known for | Storing copies of all books headed up or down the H'va river aswell as being the largest deposit of books from the Assumptarian Golden Age |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | Scholar 'Uma |
| Engineer | Scholar 'Uma |
The Library of B'etqa (pronounced Beitz) is a famous tourist attraction aswell a former public library and headquarters of the Scholar B'etqa whose name the library is derived from. The library is notable for numerous things such as being the largest deposit of literature from the Assumptarian Golden Age, having copies of every book that travelled up and down the Hv'a (pronounced rey) river and also being the largest deposit of books from the period when Assumptaria was part of the Empire of Three Kings.
First beginning as an education center for B'etqa's students and as a library for B'etqa's manuscript library quickly gained recognition up and down the Hv'a river and across the scientific disciplines due to its founder Scholar B'etqa being a renowned polymath and expert and it became recognized as a center of literature and education for intelligentsia and students alike. It was under B'etqa's management that the library gained many reputable Scholars and ambitious students. At this time, the library was non-fiction only and fictious content was banned from being collected on the shelves. It was however when B'etqa died and another younger influential scholar and polymath who had studied elsewhere, Scholar 'Uma asserted control of the library that this ban was lifted and the library was renovated and a new ambition for the library to house a copy of all literature travelling on traders on the Hv'a river began.
Founding
The foundation of the library started with a pledge, Scholar B'etqa wanted a central location for him, his works and his students to gather together. He pledged that hebwould make a place where knowledge was free and accessible, Scholar B'etqa using his own personal funds made a budget for the construction of the library which included a personal living space for him and a hall in which he would teach anyone who came to have him as their mentor. Journals from the students never mention whether or not B'etqa hoped for the library to become the large deposit of knowledge it's known for today.
When the building was finished and the library was completed, B'etqa wrote that upon his death that the library would receive all of his personal funds as part of it's treasury, the currency at the time is unexchangable to modern day survived until 1348 when an official price began to be charged for taking out fiction books under Scholar 'Uma's management, its assumed that Scholar B'etqa was quite rich.
The Ban On Fictious Books
Under B'etqa's management fictious books were banned both from being collected on shelves or from being brought in by students, while the papers themselves have been lost journal's from students likely studying the papers or a lesson about them by B'etqa's have confirmed that B'etqa had created a medical theory that reading fiction could lead to a decline in intelligence and reading excessive amounts could lead to mental illnesses he called "Crawlers" or "Quya'i" (pronounced Zuh-bi) in assumptarian in reference to how they would "crawl" into your mind. This theory was extremely controversial though and would later be disregarded by the medical world after his death.
When scholar 'Uma took control of the library, she removed this restriction however because library funds were starting to decline she implentened a rule that in order to take fiction books off library grounds you'd need to pay a fee.