Imagine that you need to prepare an interesting presentation or you need to write a report for a seminar on the latest advances in science and technology. Perhaps you have a desire to read ancient manuscripts? In any case, you go to the library.

Here long-term funds contain not only books, manuscripts, but also various paintings, microfilms, transparencies, audio and video tapes. Also, various electronic media are becoming more and more widespread.

The largest libraries in the world are located in the United States. However, it is nice to know that Ukraine also has something to be proud of! The largest libraries in the world are brought to your attention. Despite the development of e-books, hundreds and thousands of visitors come to these book temples every day.

Library of Congress, Washington, USA. One of the largest libraries in the world has suffered two devastating fires in its two-hundred-year history, but each time it was restored, and the rest of the library fund was replenished. 740 books in total and only three geographic Maps America is the entire original collection of the Library of Congress.

Today, the US National Library contains a huge fund - 33.5 million books, photographs, maps, manuscripts and records in more than 460 languages ​​of the world. The library building is one of the oldest government agencies in the United States. The Citadel of Knowledge is a complex of three very large buildings. Like a castle, the largest library in the world is difficult to walk around on your own in one day.

This is probably why visitors are offered free walking tours of the library. In just one hour, you can learn a lot about the history of the building and the work of the National Library. Moreover, there is also a shop where you can find various books, gifts and souvenirs.

Harvard University Library, Cambridge, USA. Today, the Harvard University library consists of many structural units, in total there are more than eighty centers of various directions. These are libraries of research centers in Yale, colleges, museums such as the Loeb Music Library or the Oak Eims Orchid Library. The collections of these libraries are formed in accordance with the profile of each department. Nevertheless, the library is united - it is managed by only one director. It is he who controls all services that work on common projects for all local centers.

In total, the library fund has more than 16 million printed publications. In addition to specialized literature, the library contains many ancient manuscripts. This collection includes several million pieces. It also contains numerous European editions of the 16th-17th centuries. However, access to the library is strictly limited. Are you not a Harvard student or university staff? Nothing, because you still have the opportunity to work with the library archive. How? It's simple - via the Internet.

Boston Public Library, Boston, USA. Boston - paradise for students. It is here that the most extensive library network is located. There are only two buildings assigned to the central library. However, there are more than 25 branches. Every year the library runs an average of 50 different programs and hosts about 150 exhibitions. In this way, the library gives the public the opportunity to view books and documents that are usually only available for research by scholars.

The Boston Public Library is one of the largest public libraries in the United States. There is a sign above the main entrance: "Free for everyone." This library was the first where books and other materials were allowed to take home. The institution contains over 15 million volumes. In 1986, the library building was designated a National Historic Landmark, one of America's finest examples of neo-Renaissance architecture. Inside the building there are wonderful frescoes, collections of rare books and manuscripts, maps and prints. The library can also please with a developed infrastructure, represented by a restaurant and cafe, a quiet courtyard, several conveniently and accessible Wi-Fi points at once.

British Library, London, UK. The British Library came about as a result of the amalgamation of the British Museum Library and a number of less significant collections in 1972. Since the time of King George II, she has held the legal copy of all books published within the UK. The collection of the library has more than 150 million storage units, including 310 thousand volumes of manuscripts, 60 million patents, more than 4 million maps, over 260 thousand titles of magazines, etc.

About 3 million new items are added to the archives of the world's largest library every year. The entire fund requires more than 625 kilometers of shelves with an increase of 12 kilometers per year. The total area of ​​the library is more than 112 thousand square meters... The building has 14 floors, 5 of which are underground. The British Library serves business and industry, researchers, academics and students in the UK and around the world. More than 16,000 people visit the library every day, many of them work with materials via the Internet.

Yale University Library, New Haven, USA. Yale University Library is one of the leading in the world. She conducts various research, replenishes and preserves her funds and, of course, provides access to unique sources of human thought and creativity. This institution supports teaching and Scientific research Yale University, as well as the scientific community around the world.

A distinctive feature of the library is a large amount of resources. We are talking about about 13 million volumes, ranging from ancient papyri and ending with electronic databases. The library occupies 22 rooms and contains a large staff - over 600 employees. The pride of the university library is the Yale Center for British Art, where a collection of various paintings, sculptures, drawings, rare books is presented. It also houses the Yale Collection of Babylonian Art, one of the five largest in the world.

New York Public Library, New York, USA. The New York Public Library was established in 1884. Today it includes 87 divisions (including 77 regional branches). Four research libraries do not allow home lending of books and materials. Subscriptions are issued at four other main centers. Among the departments there is also a library for people with disabilities.

Today, the New York Library is one of the most extensive libraries in the world. More than 16 million readers are served here every year. Access to library collections is free for everyone. In total, the archives of the New York Public Library contain over 50 million items. Over 20 million units are books, and the remaining 30 million are audio recordings, maps, paintings and drawings, films and newspaper clippings in dozens of languages. About 44.5 million items of the library fund are in the main collection and 8.7 million - in branches. The archives are updated daily with 10 thousand new titles.

Interesting fact: The New York Public Library contains a special division - the library police. The tasks of the special patrol officers include maintaining order and ensuring security. Moreover, these individuals are allowed to arrest violators. But, at the same time, some branches of the library use the services of various security agencies to ensure proper security.

National library named after Vernadsky, Kiev, Ukraine. The Vernadsky National Library is the main scientific and information center of Ukraine. It was founded in 1918. In those calm years, the country found an opportunity to think about the collection and preservation of data. The library holdings here amount to more than 15 million items. The library's information resources are used by about 500 thousand readers a year. Also, up to 5 million documents are issued annually for personal use.

The institution contains a large staff - more than 900 employees. The National Library carries out book exchange with similar organizations in 80 countries of the world and with 1.5 thousand scientific institutions. The local archives contain the largest collection of Slavic writing and Jewish folklore. This is a unique collection. Since 1964, at the initiative of the UN, the National Library has been the custodian of UN documents and materials in Ukraine in Russian and English.

German Library, Berlin, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Germany. The National Library of Germany is the central archive and national center for the study of writing in this country. It emerged as a result of the merger of the libraries of Frankfurt and Leipzig, once central to West and East Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the largest German book archives were also merged with the music archive in Berlin.

The main task of the unique library is the collection, processing and storage of various documentation and publications in German from all over the world. The processing of the accumulated archives began in 1913. The library contains local publications, foreign articles about Germany, translations of German works, as well as works of emigrants who left the country, dated from the period 1933-1945. Currently, all three branches of the library store more than 24 million items (Leipzig - 14.3 million, Frankfurt am Main - 8.3 million and Berlin - 1.5 million).

Canadian Library and Archives, Ottawa, Canada. The Canadian Library and Archives collect and preserve cultural heritage Canada. We are talking about texts, images related to the history, culture and politics of the country. Various materials come to the library and archive from government agencies, private donors, and also thanks to the legal deposit system. The director of the institution is far from being the last person for his country. He holds the rank of Deputy Minister and holds the title of Librarian and Archivist of Canada.

The library and archive contains about 350 thousand works of art. Including - paintings of the XVI century, drawings, 21.3 million photographs and over 71 thousand hours of full-length and short films, starting in 1897. Moreover, the library collection contains an electronic database of over 3.18 million megabytes and the largest collection of Canadian folk music.

National Library of China, Beijing. The National Library of China has many statuses, including the Scientific Library, the National Bibliographic Center, the National Library Information and Science Technology Library Network Center, and the Development Center.

The library covers an area of ​​about 170 thousand square meters and has not only the largest collection of Chinese books in the world, but also the largest collection of materials in foreign languages ​​in the country. In its collection there are more than 270 thousand volumes of rare books, as well as 1.6 million volumes of ancient books and manuscripts, 35 thousand parts of manuscripts and bones with inscriptions.

Today the library occupies three buildings. The main building was built in 1987. The oldest building was built in 1931; earlier it was the main building of the library. And today it houses a repository of rare books. The third building was opened in 2008, located north of the main building. It can simultaneously accommodate up to 8 thousand visitors. Library all year round open to the public, and using the Internet, the library's resources are available 24 hours a day.

Since 1995, on May 27, the All-Russian Day of Libraries and Their Workers has been held in our country. However, not only we have such holidays, because famous book depositories are appreciated all over the world. This date was not chosen by chance, but is tied to the foundation in 1795 of the first state public library in Russia.

This library, which has now become the Russian National, is known to every of our compatriots, but we do not know much about the main libraries of other countries.

Meet the top 10 libraries in the world renowned for their size, age, artistic value, and unique architecture.

Russian State Library (formerly the Lenin Library) in Moscow

In 2008, Russians celebrated the 180th anniversary of the country's main library, created on the basis of the Rumyantsev Museum. More than forty million books, manuscripts and magazines stored in it make Leninka one of the largest in the world.

New york public library

The famous library-museum, which houses forty million scientific works and more than fifteen million fiction books, also owns a unique collection of paintings and prints donated to the library by the authors themselves and private owners.

Philadelphia public library

The library, with 55 branches throughout the country and containing over five million books, was opened in late XIX century under the motto "a shared library should be accessible to all" and became the first of the free.

National Library in Paris

Founded in 1480, this library is one of the oldest in the world. Its peculiarity also lies in the fact that only a person with higher education who received a recommendation from his supervisor. Together with the Sorbonne Library, it catalogs all printed publications in France.

National Library in Belarus

The famous giant diamond, attracting millions of tourists, is located in the east of Minsk. Its glass edges, dull gray during the day and shimmering with a thousand lights at night, hide more than thirteen million books in a variety of media. And on the roof of this library there is an observation deck and a cafe, making it interesting for people far from literature.

Cambridge University Library

Isaac Newton's papers, Gutenberg's Bible, Darwin's letters, the Royal Observatory of Greenwich archives and seven million more books are contained in this library, the first mention of which dates back to 1416. Perhaps, such a number of unique works cannot be found in almost any world collection.

Royal Library of Denmark

Admirers of Hans Christian Andersen treat the Danish library with special trepidation, because it is in this library that all his manuscripts are kept. And there is also a repository for several million books, a giant concert hall, which hosts performances by famous orchestras, there are also six reading rooms, a huge bookstore and even a restaurant.

Fisher Library in Sydney

The largest collection of books in the Southern Hemisphere is kept in the Fisher Library at the University of Sydney. In addition, its building can delight connoisseurs of unusual architecture, as it was created from two unusually combined parts.

Vatican Library

Founded in the 15th century by Pope Nicholas V, it has been replenished by the rulers of the Vatican century after century. It is worth noting that it contains not only religious literature (although it is, of course, the majority), but also works of art. This is due to the fact that many popes were great connoisseurs of the creativity of their contemporaries and replenished the library collection with everything that they considered worthy.

Laurenzian Library in Florence

Built during the Renaissance and designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Florentine Library became famous not only for its paintings, books and manuscripts, but also for its unique designs and luxurious finishes. Appearance This temple of knowledge attracts tourists and photographers seeking to capture its sophisticated beauty and grace.

Impressed? Well, if you yourself want to touch the reasonable, kind, eternal, book rooms and hit the road - seeing the miracle of miracles with your own eyes is not so difficult.

The Library of Congress is the largest in the world. Based in Washington, DC, it has over 155 million books in 470 languages. In addition, manuscripts, audio recordings and films are kept here. She is also one of the most beautiful. It contains literature of a different nature, from school and scientific research to literature for government agencies.

Here you can find books in 470 languages, it is the largest library in the world. In the new year, for sure, many will set themselves the goal of reading more). In this library, you need to live several lives to read at least half of the books.

The library has 18 reading rooms, they can accommodate almost 1,500 people a day. And if we talk about the numbers in general, about 1.7 million readers visit the library every year, and there are 3,600 employees working here.

The library was founded on April 24, 1800, just as Washington became the capital. Then a rather large amount was allocated for the creation of the first fund: 5 thousand dollars. They bought more than 700 books, which were intended for members of the Congress. They gave the name to the library.

Less than 15 years later, the library was destroyed during the Anglo-American War. Then they burned down almost the entire fund, including the most valuable books. But after the end of the war ex-president Thomas Jefferson sold his collection for $ 24,000. It contained more than 6 thousand unique books, which he collected for half a century. And so the revival of the library began. By the way, the main building was named after him.

However, the troubles did not end there: in 1851, there was another severe fire in the library, so it had to be restored again.

In the twentieth century, the Library of Congress was supplemented by two branch buildings, one of which bears the name of its founder and second president, John Adams, and the other? the fourth president, James Madison. The buildings are interconnected by passages.

Are the collections of the library really unique, at least because there are more than 5.5 thousand old books? incunabula, which were published in the first centuries after the invention of printing. In addition, there are huge collections of literature in other languages.

For example, the Library of Congress contains a large collection of Russian literature outside of Russia. In 1907, the management bought 81 thousand copies of books and magazines from the Krasnoyarsk bibliophile and merchant G.V. Yudin. Yudin was worried that with the beginning of the revolution and unrest in the country, his library would be lost, so he was forced to sell it. Nicholas II, due to lack of funds, refused to buy it. From that time on, the replenishment of the collection of Russian literature began.

All collections have been digitized for several years now, but this is a very time-consuming process. If the entire fund is converted to electronic form, then approximately 20 terabytes of storage will be required.

Back in the 19th century, the government passed a law that any book published in the territory must be transferred to the collection of the Library of Congress at least in one copy. Every day the library is replenished by about 15 thousand units, including those donated. Thus, the annual increase in literary copies is about 3 million.

Today the collection is so huge that if you line up all the shelves in one row, their length will be almost 1.5 thousand kilometers. Life is not enough to read at least a third of these books.

In addition to books, it houses 68 million manuscripts, 5 million maps (this is the largest collection of maps in the world), more than 3.4 million records and more than 13.5 million photographs. And, of course, comics, where can we go without them. There are more than 100 thousand of them, this is a large collection in the country and, perhaps, in the world.

Interesting about the largest library in the world

# 1. The Library of Congress has a large collection of 15th century books in the Western Hemisphere. It also contains one of three known copies of the Gutenberg Bible. It was with her in the 1450s that book printing began.

# 2. The Library of Congress has had a special collection of books for the blind since 1931.

No. 3. In addition to comics and maps, there is also the world's largest collection of telephone directories.

No. 4. Since 2006, the library has collected every public tweet and archived it.

No. 5. The library spends about $ 100,000 annually on light bulbs.

No. 6. Free guided tours of approximately 45 minutes are offered daily except Sundays.

As for the top three, the second place is taken by the British Library in London, whose fund did not come off much: 150 million copies. The third place is taken by the New York Public Library, with 53 million items. By the way, does a record number of people visit it every year? 18 million readers. As for Russian libraries, the 5th and 6th places are occupied by the Russian State Library of Moscow and the Russian National Library of St. Petersburg with 45 and 37 million copies, respectively.

But last year, there were reports that China was opening the largest library in the world. With the above data, we have exposed this myth and now we will talk about one of the most amazing and beautiful libraries in the world.

In early October 2017, the Binhai Library opened in the Chinese city of Tianjin. The futuristic building was designed by the Dutch architectural firm MVRDV. In the central hall of the library there is a white ball, above it is a dome, and numerous bookshelves smoothly merge into the ceiling. The library has become a very popular destination for Tianjin residents, and the gallery's photos have gone viral on Chinese social media.

The atrium of the library is deliberately designed in such a way that a huge luminous sphere is clearly visible through the glazed facade of the building. Inside the sphere was an auditorium, and around it was an impressive cascade of bookshelves.

It was the undulating bookshelves that became the main element of the library's interior space. They helped shape the architecture of the building: stairs, seating, multi-level ceilings, and even shutters on the façade.

This 5-storey building was designed by the Dutch design firm MVRDV in cooperation with the Tianjin Institute of Urban Planning and Design. The library area, which contains 1.2 million books, is 34,000 square meters.

Reading rooms and recreation areas are located on the first and second floors, computer classes, conference rooms and offices are located on the upper levels. The classroom is located inside the futuristic glass sphere in the center of the library.

The construction of the library was completed in three years. Now most of top shelves are not filled with printed editions, instead of them special plates with images of books are fixed on the surface. The real books are kept in other rooms of the building.

A month after the opening of the library, photographs appeared in photo banks, which show that on the shelves in beautiful hall no books - they are drawn.

According to the deputy director of the library, Xufeng Liu, the city authorities did not allow the books to be displayed in the central hall, they are in other rooms. “There is a very big difference between photographs and reality,” said one of the library's visitors.

The few books seen in the photographs were temporary, Liu said. The library should remove them soon. Tianjin Binghai Library was built under China Green Star's Energy Energy label and has achieved two-star status.

Thank you for your interest. Rate, like, comment, share. Subscribe.

The Library of Congress is the largest in the world. Based in Washington, DC, it has over 155 million books in 470 languages. In addition, manuscripts, audio recordings and films are kept here. She is also one of the most beautiful. It contains literature of a different nature, from school and scientific research to literature for government agencies.

Here you can find books in 470 languages, it is the largest library in the world. In the new year, for sure, many will set themselves the goal of reading more).

In this library, you need to live several lives to read at least half of the books.

The library has 18 reading rooms, they can accommodate almost 1,500 people a day. And if we talk about the numbers in general, about 1.7 million readers visit the library every year, and there are 3,600 employees working here.

The library was founded on April 24, 1800, just as Washington became the capital of the United States. Then a rather large amount was allocated for the creation of the first fund: 5 thousand dollars. They bought more than 700 books, which were intended for members of the Congress. They gave the name to the library.

Less than 15 years later, the library was destroyed during the Anglo-American War. Then they burned down almost the entire fund, including the most valuable books. But after the war ended, former President Thomas Jefferson sold his collection for $ 24,000. It contained more than 6 thousand unique books, which he collected for half a century. And so the revival of the library began. By the way, the main building was named after him.

However, the troubles did not end there: in 1851, there was another severe fire in the library, so it had to be restored again.
In the twentieth century, the Library of Congress was supplemented by two branch buildings, one of which bears the name of its founder and second President John Adams, and the second - the fourth President of the United States, James Madison. The buildings are interconnected by passages.

The library's collections are actually unique, at least because there are more than 5.5 thousand old books - incunabula, which were published in the first centuries after the invention of printing. In addition, there are huge collections of literature in other languages.

Thus, the Library of Congress contains the largest collection of Russian literature outside of Russia. In 1907, the management bought 81 thousand copies of books and magazines from the Krasnoyarsk bibliophile and merchant G.V. Yudin. Yudin was worried that with the beginning of the revolution and unrest in the country, his library would be lost, so he was forced to sell it. Nicholas II, due to lack of funds, refused to buy it. From that time on, the replenishment of the collection of Russian literature began.

All collections have been digitized for several years now, but this is a very time-consuming process. If the entire fund is converted to electronic form, then approximately 20 terabytes of storage will be required.

Back in the 19th century, the government passed a law that any book published in the United States must be transferred to the library of Congress in at least one copy. Every day the library is replenished by about 15 thousand units, including those donated. Thus, the annual increase in literary copies is about 3 million.

Today the collection is so huge that if you line up all the shelves in one row, their length will be almost 1.5 thousand kilometers. Life is not enough to read at least a third of these books.

In addition to books, it houses 68 million manuscripts, 5 million maps (the largest collection of maps in the world), more than 3.4 million records and more than 13.5 million photographs. And, of course, comics, where is the United States without them? There are more than 100 thousand of them, this is the largest collection in the country and, perhaps, in the world.

Interesting facts about the largest library in the world

Fact number 1. The Library of Congress has the largest collection of 15th century books in the Western Hemisphere. It also contains one of three known copies of the Gutenberg Bible. It was with her in the 1450s that the history of printing began.

Fact number 2. The Library of Congress has had a special collection of books for the blind since 1931.

Fact number 3. In addition to comics and maps, there is also the world's largest collection of telephone directories.
Fact number 4. Since 2006, the library has collected every public tweet and archived it.

Fact number 5. The library spends about $ 100,000 annually on light bulbs.

Fact number 6. Free guided tours of approximately 45 minutes are offered daily except Sundays.

As for the top three, the second place is taken by the British Library in London, whose fund did not come off much: 150 million copies. The third place is taken by the New York Public Library, with 53 million items. By the way, it is annually visited by a record number of people - 18 million readers. As for Russian libraries, the 5th and 6th places are occupied by the Russian State Library of Moscow and the Russian National Library of St. Petersburg with 45 and 37 million copies, respectively.

But last year, there were reports that China was opening the largest library in the world. With the above data, we have exposed this myth and now we will talk about one of the most amazing and beautiful libraries in the world.

In early October 2017, the Binhai Library opened in the Chinese city of Tianjin. The futuristic building was designed by the Dutch architectural firm MVRDV. In the central hall of the library there is a white ball, above it is a dome, and numerous bookshelves smoothly merge into the ceiling. The library has become a very popular destination for Tianjin residents, and the gallery's photos have gone viral on Chinese social media.
The atrium of the library is deliberately designed in such a way that a huge luminous sphere is clearly visible through the glazed facade of the building. Inside the sphere was an auditorium, and around it was an impressive cascade of bookshelves.

It was the undulating bookshelves that became the main element of the library's interior space. They helped shape the architecture of the building: stairs, seating, multi-level ceilings, and even shutters on the façade.

This 5-storey building was designed by the Dutch design firm MVRDV in cooperation with the Tianjin Institute of Urban Planning and Design. The library area, which contains 1.2 million books, is 34,000 square meters.

Reading rooms and recreation areas are located on the first and second floors, computer classes, conference rooms and offices are located on the upper levels. The classroom is located inside the futuristic glass sphere in the center of the library.

The construction of the library was completed in three years. Now most of the upper shelves are not filled with prints; instead, special plates with images of books are fixed on the surface. The real books are kept in other rooms of the building.

A month after the opening of the library, photographs appeared in photo banks, which show that there are no books on the shelves in the beautiful room - they are drawn.

According to the deputy director of the library, Xufeng Liu, the city authorities did not allow the books to be displayed in the central hall, they are in other rooms. “There is a very big difference between photographs and reality,” said one of the library's visitors.

The few books seen in the photographs were temporary, Liu said. The library should remove them soon.
Tianjin Binghai Library was built under the Energy Energy label from China Green Star and has achieved two-star status.

Sources:

In the new year, for sure, many will set themselves the goal of reading more) In this library, you need to live several lives in order to read at least half of the books. TravelAsk will talk about the largest library in the world.

The main focus of US science

The Library of Congress is the largest in the world. Based in Washington, DC, it has over 155 million books in 470 languages. In addition, manuscripts, audio recordings and films are kept here. She is also one of the most beautiful. It contains literature of a different nature, from schools and research organizations to literature for government agencies.

The library has 18 reading rooms, they can accommodate almost 1,500 people a day. And if we talk about the numbers in general, about 1.7 million readers visit the library every year, and there are 3,600 employees working here.

The history of the largest library

The library was founded on April 24, 1800, just as Washington became the capital. Then a rather large amount was allocated for the creation of the first fund: 5 thousand dollars. They bought more than 700 books, which were intended for members of the Congress. They gave the name to the library.

Less than 15 years later, the library was destroyed during the Anglo-American War. Then they burned down almost the entire fund, including the most valuable books. But after the war ended, former President Thomas Jefferson sold his collection for $ 24,000. It contained more than 6 thousand unique books, which he collected for half a century. And so the revival of the library began. By the way, the main building was named after him.

However, the troubles did not end there: in 1851, there was another severe fire in the library, so it had to be restored again.

Unique collections

In the twentieth century, the Library of Congress was supplemented by two branch buildings, one of which bears the name of its founder and second president, John Adams, and the second - the fourth president, James Madison. The buildings are interconnected by passages.

The library's collections are actually unique, at least because there are more than 5.5 thousand old books - incunabula, which were published in the first centuries after the invention of printing. In addition, there are huge collections of literature in other languages.

Thus, the Library of Congress contains the largest collection of Russian literature outside of Russia. In 1907, the management bought 81 thousand copies of books and magazines from the Krasnoyarsk bibliophile and merchant G.V. Yudin. Yudin was worried that with the beginning of the revolution and unrest in the country, his library would be lost, so he was forced to sell it. Nicholas II, due to lack of funds, refused to buy it. From that time on, the replenishment of the collection of Russian literature began.

All collections have been digitized for several years now, but this is a very time-consuming process. If the entire fund is converted to electronic form, then approximately 20 terabytes of storage will be required.

How the library is updated

Back in the 19th century, the government passed a law that any book published in the United States must be transferred to the library of Congress in at least one copy. Every day the library is replenished by about 15 thousand units, including those donated. Thus, the annual increase in literary copies is about 3 million.

Today the collection is so huge that if you line up all the shelves in one row, their length will be almost 1.5 thousand kilometers. Life is not enough to read at least a third of these books.

In addition to books, it houses 68 million manuscripts, 5 million maps (the largest collection of maps in the world), more than 3.4 million records and more than 13.5 million photographs. And, of course, comics, where is the United States without them? There are more than 100 thousand of them, this is the largest collection in the country and, perhaps, in the world.

Interesting facts about the largest library in the world

Fact no. 1... The Library of Congress has the largest collection of 15th century books in the Western Hemisphere. It also contains one of three known copies of the Gutenberg Bible. It was with her in the 1450s that the history of printing began.

Fact number 2... The Library of Congress has had a special collection of books for the blind since 1931.

Fact no. 3... In addition to comics and maps, there is also the world's largest collection of telephone directories.

Fact no. 4... Since 2006, the library has collected every public tweet and archived it.

Fact number 5... The library spends about $ 100,000 annually on light bulbs.

Fact no. 6... Free guided tours of approximately 45 minutes are offered daily except Sundays.

And the largest libraries in the world

As for the top three, the second place is taken by the British Library in London, whose fund did not come off much: 150 million copies. The third place is taken by the New York Public Library, with 53 million items. By the way, it is annually visited by a record number of people - 18 million readers. As for Russian libraries, the 5th and 6th places are occupied by the Russian State Library of Moscow and the Russian National Library of St. Petersburg with 45 and 37 million copies, respectively.