The Largest Libraries in the World

The Library of Congress in Washington tops most lists with more than 170 million items, from maps and recordings to 25 million cataloged books. The British Library is close behind at over 170 million items and grows by about 3 million pieces a year under legal deposit.

Counting only printed volumes, the Russian State Library in Moscow and the Shanghai Library hold some of the largest collections on earth. The New York Public Library system tops public libraries with over 55 million items across 92 locations.

National libraries of China, Japan, France, Spain, and Germany each hold between 30 and 45 million items. Because some libraries count items and others count volumes, the exact ranking shifts, but these giants share miles of shelving and millions of readers..