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[[File:Library_of_Alexandria_(sepia).jpg|thumbnail|left|Library of Alexanderia - 1889 lithograph]]
It is not known how many members the museum had. Their names have been lost to history. <ref>Erskine, 39.</ref> However, it is known that many famous intellectuals studied and worked there, including Euclid, Callimachus, and Eratosthenes. <ref>Erskine, 38</ref> The scholars were led by a librarian who was appointed by the King. The librarian was the head scholar, head scholar, and tutor to the royal family. <ref>Erskine, 39</ref>
The librarians and the Ptolemies alike went to great lengths to obtain as many books as possible. Scholars were sent to other major cities such as Athens and Rhodes, to buy books. All ships that docked in the harbor were searched, and the books were taken and copied. The copies (not the originals) were returned to the owners. Books known to have been acquired this way include the tragedies of Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides.<ref>Erskine, 38</ref> It is believed that the Library may have contained as many as half a million scrolls. If these estimates are accurate, the Library of Alexandria was significantly larger than any other libraries library of its time.
====The Library Destroyed====
It is unknown when or how the library was destroyed as there are no primary sources that discuss its destruction. Scholars can’t even be sure about a century when it may have occurred. Some scholars believe it was destroyed as early as 48 A.D. while others place the date six hundred years later in 641. It is not known where the library was located within the city nor how large it was, how many buildings it contained, or how many scholars lived there. There are no eye witness eyewitness accounts or even primary sources which mention the destruction of the library.<ref>Erskine, 38</ref>
It is most widely believed that the Library of Alexandria was destroyed in a fire that was started when Caesar burned the Egyptian fleet during the Alexandrian Warn in 48 B.C.<ref>Thiem</ref> Instead, Many Islamic scholars believe that Umar's order burned the library, a powerful 7th century Caliph from Mecca, after the Muslim conquest of Alexandria 641 A.D. Others believe that Emperor Theodosius burned it in 390 A.D. Finally, many believe it was destroyed during the recapture of Alexandria by Aurelian during the revolt of Queen Zenobia of Palmyra in 269 A.D.
Despite the best efforts of classical scholars, most details about the Library of Alexandria remain a mystery. What is known is that the Library was an unparalleled center of learning in the ancient world, which enjoyed the patronage of the ruling monarchy for centuries. Scholars traveled from all over the world to study at Alexandria and copy their books, and it has entered our modern psyche as a symbol of a great loss of knowledge and culture. As time goes on, scholars and the general public alike hope to eventually shed light on the mystery of its holdings and its eventual destruction. Until then, the details of the events in the Library of Alexandria's life are left to our imagination.
<youtube>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvWncVbXfJ0</youtube>
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