There definitely were Roman public libraries. Plinus reports that Pollio built the first public library in Rome around 30 BC. He was a patron of Virgil. https

There definitely were Roman public libraries. Plinus reports that Pollio built the first public library in Rome around 30 BC. He was a patron of Virgil. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Asinius_Pollio_(consul_40_BC)#Later_life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Asinius_Pollio_(consul_4...