Agriculture has been a part of human life since the beginning of the human race and
the need for agricultural information is probably almost as old as agriculture itself. Babylonian clay tablets have been found that contain agricultural information. Blanchard (1997) hypothesized that, "the great library at Alexandria undoubtedly had many treatises on agriculture inscribed on papyrus". Throughout history, in many civilizations, there have been libraries that have included agricultural information, and separate agricultural libraries were established in Europe in the mid-eighteenth century. In India, special attention was paid to development of an agricultural research  infrastructure immediately after Independence. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) acts as a repository of information and provides consultancy on agriculture, horticulture, resource management, animal sciences, agricultural engineering, fisheries, agricultural
extension, agricultural education, home science, and agricultural communication. It has the
mandate to coordinate agricultural research and development programmes and develop
linkages at national and international levels with related organisations to enhance the quality of life of the farming community