BIBLIOTECARIO DI SANTA ROMANA CHIESA. — At present, this is the title of the Cardinal entrusted with the supreme direction of the Vatican Library; attached to it is that of Archivist of S. R. C.
The first mention of a bibliothecarius in the papal curia dates from the year 781, in a document in which a certain Theophilactus bibliothecarius appears as a witness; documents of doubtful authenticity recall the office from an earlier period, but it seems that until then the preservation of the acts of the councils, the registers of letters, and in general the books forming the Pope’s library was the responsibility of the head of the notaries, the primicarius notariorum. The b. took part in the work of the chancery together with the notaries and the indices de clero; among the various forms of his title, the most common is bibliothecarius Sedis Apostolicae. In the 11th century his position in the chancery became pre-eminent, and as a rule he was chosen from among the suburbicarian bishops; from 1037 to 1144 the same person often bore the double title of cancellarius et bibliothecarius, alluding to the dual function of drafting documents and preserving the Church’s records. Subsequently, the title of b. disappeared as an attribute of the head of the chancery; nevertheless, until the early years of the 13th century, the names of several b. are found among the indices, who by then had no connection with II. At this same time the ancient papal archive, and with it the library, became dispersed.
The library reconstituted by Boniface VIII followed the Popes to Avignon and was there entrusted to the Dominican Francesco Tolomei, who kept it until 1318; the office of b. was subsequently given to the Augustinians.
With the foundation of the present Vatican Library by Niccolò V (1447–55), the character of the office changed, and from then on it was entrusted to men of letters and scholars. Leo X appointed the first Cardinal b., who exercised the office through one or two custodians. In the last century the position was sometimes given to the Cardinal Secretary of State, who assumed its functions when it was vacant; in recent times the b. has been chosen from among the cardinals particularly distinguished for their learning.