Today is the feast day of St. Jerome, patron saint of librarians, translators and encyclopedists. The Preus Library article by Jane Kemp skillfully describes his life and library:
St. Jerome’s personal library was considered to be the most important private collection of the period. He was a great bibliophile, interested in collecting both pagan and Christian books. His learning was considered unequaled during the time he lived since he was an insatiable reader and had a phenomenal memory for what he learned. Finally, his scholarship broke new ground with his translations of the Bible and Biblical commentaries.