Summary
This paper describes the work of librarians in Byzantium, primarily through the activity of educated individuals who were organizing their own collections, documentation of the emperors and writings in the Patriarchal Library. Although the functions of librarians were visible, till the 11th century we can not talk about the name of the profession, except through the work done by a chartophylax. Monks who were working in monastery libraries had a particular position. Their functions were determined by specifi c rules laid down by the founders, governing the daily life and, within it, work in scriptorium and library. The period from the thirteenth to the fi fteenth century is signifi cant for the development of the profession because it was then that, through the work of Theodore II Lascaris, for the fi rst time, the idea occurred of an individual who would organize funds available to all strata of society. After the fall of Constantinople, the basis of the Byzantine book culture moves to the territory of Italy, where Manuel Chrysoloras organized the fi rst Byzantine library, which will be the forerunner of Renaissance libraries.

Keywords:
Byzantium, chartophylax, custos librorum, librarian, Monastery of Studios, monastery libraries, Origen, Julian the Apostate, Themistius, Photius, Manuel Chrysoloras

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