List of largest libraries

This sortable list of largest libraries includes libraries that, as measured in 2008 or subsequently, store 10 million or more items. All figures are based on data published by the libraries themselves. As there are no universally accepted standards for measuring stock, libraries may have counted their holdings in different ways, and the figures given may not be directly comparable.

List

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Name Country Location Catalogued size
(number of items)
Visitors per year Budget Staff
British Library   United Kingdom London and Boston Spa[1] _0180000000170–200 million[2][3][4] _00017500001.75 million[5] _01410000000£141 million[6] _019771,977[6]
Library of Congress   United States Washington, D.C., reference access only and must use another library to borrow _0168000000175 million+[7] _00017500001.9 million[8] _19523722680US$838.992 million[8] _036243,149[8]
Russian State Library   Russia Moscow _0044400000126.1 million[9] _0001170000498,000[10] _016400000002.7 billion[10] _019721,613[10]
Shanghai Library   China Shanghai _005000000058 million[11] _0001170000 _01640000000 _01972
New York Public Library   United States 92 locations in the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island (2nd largest number of locations in North America) _00550000055 million[12] _001800000018 million[12] _07546275000US$250 million[12] _029373,000[12]
National Library of China   China Beijing _003770000044.24 million[13] _00052000005.2 million[14] _013651,365[14]
National Diet Library   Japan Tokyo and Kyoto _004190000044.1 million[15] _0000654000791,370[15] _07128927000¥21.8 billion[15] _00908908[15]
German National Library   Germany Leipzig and Frankfurt _003420000043.7 million[16] _000029973350,713[16] _0183403310057.6 million[16] _00622639[16]
Royal Danish Library   Denmark Copenhagen and Aarhus _003540000042.5 million (physical items, excl. digital)[17] _00008503011.45 million[17] _02249892000523.8 million kr[17] _00492800+[18]
Bibliothèque nationale de France   France Paris _004000000041.66 million[19] _00013000001.3 million[20] _11038967000254 million[21] _026682,668[22]
University of California Libraries   United States Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz 40.8 million Not free: restricted to students, faculty or visitors who buy a membership[23] US$295 million[23] 2,000+[23]
University of Illinois Library   United States Urbana, Illinois, restricted to students and faculty _004000000038 million[24] US$48.7 million_07546275000[25]
National Library of Russia   Russia Saint Petersburg _003650000036.5 million[26] _00009660001 million[26] 569.2 million 1,850
Bavarian State Library   Germany Munich _003420000034.4 million _0000299731.1 million _0183403310059.1 million _000029973805
Biblioteca Nacional de España   Spain Madrid _003310000033.1 million[27] _0229906045029.2 million[28] _01090482[28]
Library and Archives Canada   Canada Ottawa, Halifax, Winnipeg, Vancouver 27 million Largely a free reference library CAD165 million 853
Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences   Russia Saint Petersburg _002650000026.5 million[29]
Berlin State Library   Germany Berlin _002340000023.4 million[30] _00014000001.4 million[30]
Boston Public Library   United States Boston, Massachusetts at 25 locations _002240000022.4 million[31] _01174200390US$38.9 million[32]
New York State Library   United States Albany, New York at 1 location _002000000020 million[33]
Harvard Library   United States Cambridge, Massachusetts, restricted to students and faculty or their "guests" _001890000018.9 million[34] _00922922[34]
National Library of Sweden   Sweden Stockholm _001800000018 million[35] 364.5 million kr[36]
University of Michigan Library   United States Ann Arbor, Michigan, at one location largely restricted to staff and students or costly pass buyers (borrowings can occur via other libraries) _001520000016.1 million[37]
University of Toronto Libraries   Canada Toronto, at one location largely restricted to university staff and students 16 million[38] CA$125 million[39]
Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine   Ukraine Kyiv _001500000015.5 million[40] _0000500000500,000[40] _0018860991050.3 million [41] _00900900[40]
Yale Library   United States New Haven, Connecticut, one location for students, staff and no free borrowing access to the public _001520000015.2 million[42]
National Library of Iran   Iran Tehran _001500000015.0 million[43]
Hong Kong Public Library   Hong Kong Hong Kong _001136000011.36 million[44] _00776200000HK$776.2 million[45]
National Library of Poland   Poland Warsaw 10.4 milion[46]
Toronto Public Library   Canada Toronto, Ontario, at 100 branches the largest and busiest free public library in North America 10.2 million 26,598,000 circulation $252 million (CAD) 1825

See also

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References

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