The Oldest Libraries on Earth

Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri, is widely called the oldest continuously operating library in the world. European monastic collections go back even further in origin: the abbey libraries of Saint Gall (747), Metten (766), and Kremsmunster (777) have kept books on the same sites for more than 1,200 years.

The Vatican Library, formally established in 1475, is the oldest large institutional library still serving scholars. In the university world, Leiden (1575) and the Bodleian (1602) run the oldest purpose built reading rooms still in daily use.

Continuity is the rare thing: fires, wars, and revolutions destroyed most ancient collections, including the ancient Library of Alexandria itself..