The Largest Libraries in the U.S.

Updated June 14, 2021 | Infoplease Staff

Fonts of Knowledge

According to the American Library Association, these are the largest libraries in the United States. This list includes private research libraries at major universities, and also includes branch locations and restricted access collections.

Of the libraries on the list, the library at Harvard is the oldest; the university and its library were founded in 1638. But, The Boston Public library is the second ever modern public library in the world. It is the first major library funded by local taxes (preceded only by the little Peterborough town library in neighboring New Hampshire). The project was pushed through to completion after rumors surfaced of a similar project in New York ignited an intercity competition.

Rank	Institution	Volumes held
1.	Library of Congress	34,528,818
2.	Boston Public Library	19,090,261
3.	Harvard University	16,832,952
4.	New York Public Library	16,342,365
5.	University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign	13,158,748
6.	Yale University	12,787,962
7.	University of California - Berkeley	11,545,418
8.	Columbia University	11,189,036
9.	University of Michigan	10,778,736
10.	University of Texas - Austin	9,990,941
11.	University of Chicago	9,837,021
12.	University of California - Los Angeles	9,151,964
13.	Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County	8,819,759
14.	Indiana University	8,677,974
15.	Stanford University	8,500,000
16.	University of Wisconsin - Madison	8,421,198
17.	Cornells University	8,173,778
18.	Princeton University	7,226,744
19.	University of Washington	7,203,156
20.	University of Minnesota	7,111,311
21.	Detroit Public Library	7,070,433
22.	University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill	7,012,787
23.	County of Los Angeles Public Library	6,795,552
24.	Queens Borough Public Library	6,544,609
25.	Los Angeles Public Library	6,459,552