The architect and historian of the book, Konstantinos Sp. Staikos, passed away yesterday at the age of 80, and his relatives announced today, his funeral will take place on Thursday, April 6 at 10:00 am in the Holy Church of Agioi Theodoros of the First Cemetery of Athens..

The family’s request is to donate instead of wreaths to the Together for the Child association.

Who was Konstantinos Sp. Staikos?

Konstantinos Sp. Staikos was born in Athens in 1943. He studied for two years at the School of Fine Arts of the Metsovian Polytechnic Institute with teacher V. Vassiliadis in the department of applied arts – mainly scenography. He was later admitted to the Higher National School of Decorative Arts in Paris. From 1968, he worked in Paris in various architectural and decorating firms, which were engaged in the restoration and reconstruction of historical and monumental buildings, such as the Château de Ferrières.

From this time he started his library, initially with publications concerning the recording of the historical architectural monuments of France and the symbolic decorative motifs that were installed in various periods and cultures, both in the West and in the East.

In parallel with his professional activities, he began to add to the core of his library with publications on the history of Greek printing, beginning in the 15th century. His passion for collecting books quickly developed into a passion for researching the publishing activities of Genus from the Renaissance to the early post-revolutionary years. He was entrusted with the study of the reconstruction of the historical library of the St. John the Theologian Monastery on Patmos.

During his ten-year collaboration with the monastery’s library and museum, he had time to delve into the history of the library institution through time and across many cultures. Thus, he began research to chronicle the evolution of the library, both library and architectural, from 4000 B.C. The result was the five-volume History of the Library of Western Civilization, published from 2000 to 2013 and available in Greek, English, and now in Chinese.

Later, the reconstruction of the Library of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Fanari, the transformation of the building of Kostis Palamas (designed by Cleanthes) into the funeral home of the University of Athens, the transformation of the Rotunda of the Holy Church of St. Theodore followed. Tiron on the Palatine Hill in Rome (5th century), from the Catholic to the Orthodox Church, the Palace of the Municipality of Athens, etc.

Considering that the collection of books reflecting the spiritual history of the Family cannot be a personal matter, but the property of all Greeks, he was looking for a shelter for his future. Unfortunately, the Council of the Alexandros S. Onassis Foundation heeded his appeal and allocated special premises at the headquarters of the Foundation, where libraries were developed for the entire collection.

Moreover, he felt that the vast amount of documentary information and images he had collected, after planned research and documentation, could take the form of an encyclopedia that could only be made available to the public electronically. Thus, he conceived the creation of the website “About Libraries”.

In April 2020, he founded the Kipos Filobivlon City Non-Profit Society and, together with the National Center for Documentation and Electronic Content (EKT), created a digital encyclopedia “About Libraries – www.aboutlibraries.gr” for the whole world. libraries from antiquity to the present day. The main goal is an organized recording and coverage of the history of libraries and their collections.

Konstantinos S. Staikos also founded the Aton Publishing House and his books are published in Greek, English, Italian, Dutch, French, Chinese and Arabic. The main theme of the publications is the history of the book and libraries in Western civilization and topics related to the book.

For example, some titles: Spiritual Journey of the Family (4 volumes, 2017–2022), Ptolemaic Museum and Library in Alexandria (2020), Erasmus. Apostle of the Greek Intellect from the North (2020), Greek Archetypes and Greek Writings in Hetero-Language Archetypes (2019), Library Architecture in Western Civilization. From the Minoan to Michelangelo (2016), A History of the Library in Western Civilization (5 vols., 2002–2012), Plato’s Library and the Academy (2012), Aristotle’s Library (2015), etc.

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