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ALA Library Fact Sheet 22 - The Nation's Largest Libraries
The Nation's Largest Libraries
A listing by volumes held
ALA Library Fact Sheet Number 22
This fact sheet lists the top 100 largest libraries in the United States by volumes held.
Number |
Source |
Institution |
Volumes Held |
1 |
L |
Library of Congress |
30,011,748 |
2 |
A |
Harvard University |
15,555,533 |
3 |
P |
Boston Public Library |
15,458,022 |
4 |
A |
Yale University |
12,025,695 |
5 |
A |
University
of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign |
10,370,777 |
6 |
P |
County of Los Angeles
Public Library |
10,117,319 |
7 |
A |
University
of California - Berkeley |
9,985,905 |
8 |
A |
Columbia University |
9,277,042 |
9 |
P |
Public Library of
Cincinnati & Hamilton County |
9,148,846 |
10 |
A |
University of Texas - Austin |
8,937,002 |
|
|
|
|
11 |
S |
Stanford University |
8,200,000 |
12 |
A |
University of
Michigan |
8,133,917 |
13 |
A |
University
of California - Los Angeles |
8,064,896 |
14 |
A |
University of
Wisconsin - Madison |
7,911,834 |
15 |
A |
Cornell University |
7,644,371 |
16 |
P |
Detroit Public Library |
7,572,562 |
17 |
A |
University of Chicago |
7,363,549 |
18 |
A |
Indiana University |
7,241,929 |
19 |
A |
University of Washington |
6,639,850 |
20 |
A |
University of
Minnesota |
6,587,430 |
|
|
|
|
21 |
P |
Queens Borough Public Library |
6,557,823 |
22 |
A |
Princeton University |
6,495,597 |
23 |
P |
Los Angeles Public Library |
6,393,429 |
24 |
P |
Free Library of Philadelphia |
6,307,978 |
25 |
A |
Ohio State University |
5,936,434 |
26 |
P |
Chicago Public Library |
5,891,661 |
27 |
P |
New York Public Library |
5,879,441 |
28 |
A |
University of
Pennsylvania |
5,760,065 |
29 |
A |
University
of North Carolina - Chapel Hill |
5,710,686 |
30 |
A |
Duke University |
5,560,966 |
|
|
|
|
31 |
A |
University of Arizona |
5,340,726 |
32 |
A |
University of
Virginia |
5,053,162 |
33 |
A |
Pennsylvania State University Libraries |
5,031,196 |
34 |
A |
New York University |
4,939,724 |
35 |
P |
Brooklyn Public Library (2005 number) |
4,927,341 |
36 |
A |
Michigan State
University |
4,830,861 |
37 |
A |
University of
Oklahoma |
4,796,089 |
38 |
A |
University of
Pittsburgh |
4,786,175 |
39 |
A |
Northwestern
University Library |
4,603,824 |
40 |
A |
University of Iowa |
4,551,217 |
|
|
|
|
41 |
P |
San Diego Public Library |
4,514,228 |
42 |
P |
Dallas Public Library |
4,199,655 |
43 |
A |
University of Georgia |
4,179,316 |
44 |
A |
Rutgers University |
4,169,347 |
45 |
A |
Arizona State University Libraries |
4,156,732 |
46 |
P |
Miami-Dade Public Library System |
4,142,711 |
47 |
A |
University of Florida |
4,137,528 |
48 |
A |
University of Kansas |
4,121,573 |
49 |
P |
Cleveland Public Library |
4,107,112 |
50 |
P |
Houston Public Library |
4,060,443 |
|
|
|
|
51 |
A |
University of
Southern California |
3,921,704 |
52 |
A |
Washington University - St. Louis |
3,694,504 |
53 |
A |
Johns Hopkins
University |
3,648,821 |
54 |
A |
Brigham Young
University |
3,621,577 |
55 |
A |
University of
Rochester |
3,564,683 |
56 |
A |
University of
Colorado |
3,554,826 |
57 |
A |
North Carolina
State University |
3,530,949 |
58 |
A |
Brown University |
3,509,710 |
59 |
A |
University of
California - Davis |
3,490,356 |
60 |
A |
University of South
Carolina |
3,478,256 |
|
|
|
|
61 |
P |
Hawaii State Public Library System |
3,452,240 |
62 |
P |
Mid-Continent Public Library |
3,448,146 |
63 |
A |
Texas A&M University Libraries |
3,437,376 |
64 |
A |
University of Hawaii |
3,410,468 |
65 |
A |
Louisiana State
University |
3,406,434 |
66 |
A |
State
University of New York - Buffalo |
3,390,583 |
67 |
A |
Wayne State
University |
3,383,826 |
68 |
P |
King County Library System |
3,372,574 |
69 |
P |
St. Louis Public Library |
3,364,996 |
70 |
P |
Broward County Libraries Division |
3,351,668 |
|
|
|
|
71 |
P |
Cuyahoga County Public Library |
3,316,816 |
72 |
A |
University of
Kentucky |
3,286,731 |
73 |
A |
University of
Maryland |
3,259,600 |
74 |
A |
University of
Missouri - Columbia |
3,249,783 |
75 |
A |
University of
Connecticut |
3,247,976 |
76 |
P |
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library |
3,236,363 |
77 |
A |
University of Utah |
3,230,854 |
78 |
A |
University of
Massachusetts |
3,204,025 |
79 |
A |
University of Notre
Dame |
3,185,926 |
80 |
A |
Syracuse University |
3,161,529 |
|
|
|
|
81 |
A |
University
of California - San Diego |
3,149,836 |
82 |
A |
University of Cincinnati Libraries |
3,123,318 |
83 |
A |
Emory University |
3,107,525 |
84 |
A |
Vanderbilt University |
3,056,707 |
85 |
A |
Temple University |
3,016,007 |
86 |
A |
Southern
Illinois University - Carbondale |
2,999,736 |
87 |
P |
Minneapolis Public Library |
2,986,326 |
88 |
A |
University of Tennessee - Knoxville |
2,971,837 |
89 |
P |
Milwaukee Public Library |
2,960,818 |
90 |
A |
University of
Nebraska - Lincoln |
2,942,946 |
|
|
|
|
91 |
A |
Auburn University |
2,918,859 |
92 |
P |
Toledo-Lucas County Public Library |
2,917,835 |
93 |
P |
Enoch Pratt Free Library |
2,903,223 |
94 |
A |
Florida State University Library |
2,889,810 |
95 |
P |
St. Louis County Library District |
2,846,307 |
96 |
A |
University
of California - Santa Barbara |
2,837,752 |
97 |
P |
Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library |
2,819,837 |
98 |
A |
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology |
2,782,406 |
99 |
P |
Columbus Metropolitan Library |
2,719,477 |
100 |
A |
Kent State University Libraries |
2,715,986 |
|
|
|
|
Sources
L=Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2005 (not yet available online). Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 2006. See Appendix L.Statistical Tables, Table 5.Additions to the Collection--Items, Total Print Collections (page 223). Member of ARL (Association of Research Libraries <http://www.arl.org>).
A=ARL Statistics 2004-05: A Compilation of Statistics from the One Hundred and Twenty-Three Members of the Association of Research Libraries (Compiled And Edited by Martha Kyrillidou and Mark Young). See the report, which is available as an Adobe Reader PDF file at the ARL web site for more information.
P=Public Library Data Service Statistical Report 2006--except for the Brooklyn Public Library, which comes from the Public Library Data Service Statistical Report 2005. Chicago: Public Library Association
(PLA, a division of the American Library Association <http://www.ala.org/pla>), 2006. See the PLDS
Statistical Report web page for more information.
S=Stanford
Facts 2006: Stanford Libraries. Former member of ARL.
Users should be aware that public library and academic library collections are dissimilar.
November 2006
For more information on this or other fact sheets, contact the ALA Library Reference Desk by telephone: 800-545-2433, extension 2153; fax: 312-280-3255; e-mail: library@ala.org; or regular mail: ALA Library, American Library Association, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2795.
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