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The Royal Library of Alexandria was the largest and richest library in the ancient world and one of the main cultural centers in ancient ellenistici.Andò destroyed on an unknown date (presumably around the year 270 or 400 and perhaps around the year under mysterious circumstances) .

Even in his memory has been built, and has been operating since 2002, the modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

The Library of Alexandria was built around the third century BC during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. This cultural center, adjacent to the Museum, was managed by a ��ο��ά�η� (Superintendent), a position of great authority was invested directly by the king (the first scholar to occupy that office was Zenodotus of Ephesus). They had the task of leading a team of highly trained grammarians and philologists who had the task of annotating and to amend the texts of various works which drew up the critical editions, which were then stored in the Library itself: it is assumed that at the time Philadelphus of the scrolls were kept in this place about 490,000 (when it was not enough space, a second structure was built, the Library of Serapeum).

The Library of Alexandria was founded by the Ptolemies, a dynasty Egyptian greek-created in 305 BC by one of the "Diadochi" Alexander the Great.
It is likely that the design has been the library of Ptolemy I Soter, who built also the adjoining temple of the Muses, the Museum. The library was enriched over time between the fourth and first century BC

This fact is proven by the "Letter of Aristeas," which attributes the initial organization of the library to Demetrius medallions, and a friend of Theophrastus, a pupil of Aristotle, whose library would serve as an example for the sort of Alexandria.

According to sources, Demetrius was driven by Ptolemy II (son of Ptolemy I) at the beginning of his reign and it is therefore likely that the construction of the library already began under Ptolemy I.

Surely it is due to the momentum Philadelphus acquisition of works, especially with the so-called "bottom of the ship." This collection takes its name from the fact that, in a pharaonic decree, all the books that were on the ship that stopped in the port of Alexandria were to be left in the library for copies.

Remember that it was during this period (third century BC) who was taken to the greek translation of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and which became known as the Septuagint or "Septuagint".

At the time of Ptolemy III had to exist already two libraries: the largest, in the royal palace, was used for consultation by scholars of the Museum, while the second, smaller and intended for public reading was on the outside of the court, in the temple of Serapis, the "Serapeum".

It is assumed that at the time of Philadelphus rolls preserved in the library were about 490,000 more, while those of the library amounted to about 42,800 Serapeum.

The exact texture library of the Library of Alexandria, as well as the number of authors of books, is unknown, as many rolls could contain more than one work, and many of these could be duplicated.

The first director of the library was Zenodotus of Ephesus, known for the critical edition of the poems of Homer and to whom we owe the alphabetical arrangement of the library.

The first catalog of the works in the library should perhaps Callimachus of Cyrene, Ptolemy I invited him to join the circle of intellectuals of the Alexandrian court.

His great work, the Pinakes or "Tables of eminent persons in every branch of knowledge with a list of their works," is probably a version of the list drawn up by categories for the catalog of the royal library.

After the direction of Apollonius of Rhodes, in the second half of the third century BC was the head of the library, the great geographer Eratosthenes, who, unlike their predecessors, contributed to the increase of scientific treatises.

However, it was in the first half of the second century BC, Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace, the Alexandrian philology, lexicography and touched the zenith of their fortunes.

After the mid-second century, the complex internal affairs and social disorder is not allowed the Ptolemies to continue the cultural policy of their predecessors and the Library and the Museum gradually lost the role they had played in the past.

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source: wikipedia.org