Libraries


Rank Name Buildings Location Country Year
[1] Originates with the library of the King of France. Following the French Revolution, the library was nationalized and formally granted to the public. Renovated and expanded as part of Parisian redevelopment and French expansion, the threat of dirigible bombing runs during the German Unification and Hungarian Independence Wars in the late part of the 19th century led to duplication, microfilm storage, and storage bunkers. During the French Wars > Sixth French War (1937-41), the building was emptied prior to its flattening by German bombers, and the government opened modern buildings for the library on the same site, with vast room for growth. Bibliothèque nationale de France A complex of buildings, and entrance at 58 Rue de la Loi Paris French Republic 1793
[2] Originates with the King's Library of George III; upon his death, its ownership was unclear. Following the British Wars > Popular Revolution (1827-9), Parliament nationalized it under the Frame of Government (1829), and following the Orange Riots of 1834, the new Senate House included a semi-separated Reading Room in the style of the Pantheon on the embankment front to store the King's Library and whatever other books Parliament might require, for the enjoyment of the public. Expansion in the 19th and 20th centuries forced it (despite an on-site expansion in 1881) to create an additional purpose-built building near Senate House in 1942. Library of Parliament 2, namely the Parliamentary Reading Room & Henry Brougham House London British Isles 1841
[3] During the rise of the Bai dynasty in China and the coronation of the Heads of China > 1858-1888 Mingzhi Emperor in 1858, the new state sought to modernize and adopt western norms, among which was the public library. With the confiscation of olden manuscripts from old institutions, most famously the Hanlin Academy, the Mingzhi Emperor opened the Imperial Library of China in a reserved building in the reconstructed Ming Palace to open this learning to the world. Over his thirty-year reign, the Emperor confiscated and bought a lot of books, including from the West, to make the library a truly national one in scope. With the Russo-Chinese War (1893-9) and the conquest of the Qing remnant in Mongolia and Manchuria, Lee Cheng-chang transported a lot of its manuscripts to Nanjing, where they were kept in the Imperial Library. When, in 1901, Marshal Lee overthrew the Bai dynasty and declared himself president of the new United Provinces of China (Heads of China > 1901-1926 Lee Cheng-chang (Tsuyu-Tungi-Tang) †), he renamed the Library to emphasize its republicanism, and he formally renovated it to make his mark over his twenty-five year long dictatorship, enshrining the Library in its state today. Republican Library of China 1, namely the Kan Chamber Nanjing United Provinces of China 1863
[4] During the Liberty and Union War (1868-76), New York City supported the Richmondite government while the rest of New York State supported the Constitutionalist cause. During the Battle of New York that ensued as a result, Richmondites torched gasworks and distilleries, causing massive destruction and a Great Fire despite their defeat. Postwar reconstruction included creating a library worthy of the city, and with endowments and donations it rapidly grew into the premier library of the Americas and, effectively, the national library of the United States of America. Great Library of New York 177 branches, centered around the Great Athenaeum at 4 Irving Place New York City United States of America 1879
[5] In the wake of the Punjabi Revolution, the new republic believed the creation of a national library to be a necessary aspect of republican ideology, and thus created one in Lahore on the model of the Bibliothèque Nationale, to the extent of naming it a Punjabization of the word. Its endowment and size expanded rapidly following Prem Nath Kaul's military coup in 1890, as he deposited manuscripts seized from his conquests of the hill kingdoms into it and made it the lynchpin of a national library network as a symbol of the active state. Every regime and administration since has attempted to make their own mark on the system and its central building, if nothing else to plaster their name on it. National Library of Punjab 1097 branches, centered around the Bibalithaink Lahore (head) Punjabi Republic 1884
[6] The International Library was a product of the French Wars > Fifth French War (1892-5). The war, and the rise of bombing runs in this era, came with it a peace movement, and within this movement was a French author, Paul Otlet. To democratize knowledge and spread it across borders, he wanted to establish an institution he called the "Mundaneum", that would consolidate the knowledge of humanity and allow it to be transmitted across the world. Successfully campaigning for its inclusion under the Charter for an International Forum, this new institution gathered knowledge of all types - not just books, but also newspapers, magazines, and tabledisks - and sought to link them together. Despite success with using the index card to this end, with the rising Analyzers technology, he sought to use one - the Grand Analyzer of Aix-la-Chappelle - to organize and index this new data, copied in the form of microfilm. Additionally, the International Forum established several branches of the library around the world, with exact replication of its data across them. Most famously, it distilled this data into several encyclopedias, which it transmitted to universities and libraries all across the world for the diffusion of language. With the French Wars > Sixth French War (1937-41), the Aix-la-Chapelle branch was entirely destroyed - however, its microfilm collection, transported to the countryside with the dawn of the war, survived intact, as did replicas of its records in its other branches. With that, the mother branch of the International Library got reconstructed and expanded, and postwar it continued its existing task of consolidating and archiving the information of humanity. International Library 10, centered around the Palais Mondiale Aix-la-Chapelle (head) French Republic (head) 1905
[7] The Library of Alexandria had, before its fall, contained six microfilm duplicate copies of all its documents. Prior to its fall, these duplicates were all taken to France. While one of them was incorporated into the Bibliothèque Nationale, the other five were instead gifted to various republics as symbols of revolutionary values. Among them was the United States. Despite talk of incorporating them into the Smithsonian collection, they were instead shifted into their own institution in Alexandria, Anacostia state. Since then, this New Library of Alexandria has bloomed into a colossal institution with a special focus on numerized data and an early adopter of analyzer technology. Library of Alexandria (United States) 1, namely the Alexandria Library Building Alexandria United States of America 1954
[8] This library has its origins among the Habsburg emperors' collection from medieval times. It gradually expanded over time and incorporated a great number of books from across the Habsburg lands and Germany itself. With the unification of Germany under Habsburg leadership in 1884, it expanded even further as it served as a library of deposit, and despite the Hungarian War of Independence it retained its Hungarian collection. During the French Wars > Sixth French War (1937-41), the Hofburg faced attack from long-range Véronique missiles, destroying part of the library. Postwar, with the Heads of Germany > *1943-1949 Interregnum*, the library was separated from national authority, and with the Perpetual Capitulation of 1949 and election of a Wettin to the throne, this was made permanent. In an act of magnanimity, the Head of the House of Habsburg - reduced to Archduke of Austria and King of Bohemia - opened the library to the whole nation and moved out of the Hofburg to make room for more books. It has maintained being Germany's premiere collection as a result. Imperial Court Library 1, namely the Hofburg Palace Vienna Empire of the German Nation 1368
[9] In the nineteenth century, Egypt fell under French influence, although formally it continued to be ruled by its weak sultan. In this environment, a number of French businessmen seeking to "revive" the days of old founded what they intended to be a distant successor to the Library of Alexandria. As a repository of important documents to the French colonial empire, it grew rapidly. However, then came the Egyptian Revolution (1948-52), and France was too busy rebuilding after French Wars > Sixth French War (1937-41) to secure its colonial interests. The Library became important to the Egyptian war effort as a symbol of French influence, and its administrators wanting to preserve it surrendered it without a shot. It was thence re-founded as a national library and object of much pride. Library of Alexandria (Egypt) 1, namely the Hurriyat Palace Alexandria Egyptian Republic 1874
[10] With the restoration of Chhatrapati Shahu III to real power over his hereditary prime minister in 1891, he committed himself to reform to secure his power. With the assistance of a consultative assembly, he moved against Brahmins by making reservations in administration and universities for non-Brahmins, and he formally nationalized all Hindu temples in Maharashtra, to be run from the hands of his appointees. As part of this grand takeover, he gathered a great many manuscripts, a personal collection for him and his favorites. This status quo continued for most of his reign, until British Wars > Hindustani War of Independence (1936-9) saw Maharashtra end its alliance with the British and the rise of a pro-democracy movement, and the grisly fate of many Hindustani aristocrats showed Shahu what would happen if he did nothing. When he finally accepted ministerial responsibility in 1945, his new diwan sought to make this great library available for the people. Eventually, after much negotiation, it was made a public library, but with the Hindu character of most manuscripts, it was a temple library and formally endowed under the goddess of knowledge. Despite talk of secularizing this collection as part of some mooted separation of religion and state, there is little chance of this, and the Mahapustakalaya has since become a site of some pilgrimage. Shree Saraswati Mahapustakalaya A complex of buildings, centered around the Great Saraswati Temple of Pune Pune Empire of Maharashtra 1947
[11] Biblioteca Nacional de Las Antillas Havana Antillean Confederation
[12] Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the city had a chance to be rebuilt almost from scratch - and with it being the economic and cultural center of Buenaventura, it had the resources too. Taking cues from New York, it was now to have a vast library at its very core, and it opened to much fanfare early in reconstruction, and it was swiftly endowed with nationalism by being named after the first General Director of Buenaventura. Its empty grandeur was gradually filled as its librarians acquired vast collections, many of them from across the Pacific, becoming the greatest library of the West Coast. Daniel C. Broderick Athenaeum San Francisco United Provinces of Buenaventura 1910
[13] Endowed under the fortune of James Smithson, further enhanced by a number of effective stock market bets, the Smithsonian in short succession became one of the United States' greatest institution. For much of this, it only had a working library, but this changed following the Liberty and Union War (1868-76), as the Smithsonian became the center of the National University of the United States of America. Its library grew with it as a result. Library of the Smithsonian Institution Washington United States of America 1845
[14] Advocates Library 1, namely Parliament House Edinburgh British Isles 1682
[15] The Lunar Society was a historic eighteenth century scientific society in Birmingham, which mostly collapsed in the wake of the royalist Priestley Riots of 1791. After the British Wars > Popular Revolution (1827-9) in 1827 and Dissenter emancipation, it saw a revival, and in 1849 it became the core of the University of Birmingham, one of many land-grant universities endowed with former Crown land. Its library later became the seed of the new university's own library. Lunar Library of the University of Birmingham Birmingham British Isles 1849
[16] O'Connell University Library Dublin British Isles
[17] Library of the American Philosophical Society Philadelphia United States of America 1828
[18] Petrograd Russian Sociocratic Cantonal Republic
[19] Bibliothèque nationale de Laurentie Montreal Laurentian Republic
[20] National Library of Canada 1, namely 30 Whitbread Street East Toronto Commonwealth of Canada
[21] Library of the University of St. Louis St. Louis United States of America
[22] Library of the Manchester Lyceum 1, namely Free Trade In Land Hall Manchester British Isles
[23] National Library of Zanzibar Dar es-Salaam Republic of Zanzibar
[24] Library of the University of Black Rock Black Rock United States of America
[25] National Library of Sokoto Sokoto Republic of Sokoto


























  1. Originates with the library of the King of France. Following the French Revolution, the library was nationalized and formally granted to the public. Renovated and expanded as part of Parisian redevelopment and French expansion, the threat of dirigible bombing runs during the German Unification and Hungarian Independence Wars in the late part of the 19th century led to duplication, microfilm storage, and storage bunkers. During the French Wars > Sixth French War (1937-41), the building was emptied prior to its flattening by German bombers, and the government opened modern buildings for the library on the same site, with vast room for growth. ⮐
  2. Originates with the King's Library of George III; upon his death, its ownership was unclear. Following the British Wars > Popular Revolution (1827-9), Parliament nationalized it under the Frame of Government (1829), and following the Orange Riots of 1834, the new Senate House included a semi-separated Reading Room in the style of the Pantheon on the embankment front to store the King's Library and whatever other books Parliament might require, for the enjoyment of the public. Expansion in the 19th and 20th centuries forced it (despite an on-site expansion in 1881) to create an additional purpose-built building near Senate House in 1942. ⮐
  3. During the rise of the Bai dynasty in China and the coronation of the Heads of China > 1858-1888 Mingzhi Emperor in 1858, the new state sought to modernize and adopt western norms, among which was the public library. With the confiscation of olden manuscripts from old institutions, most famously the Hanlin Academy, the Mingzhi Emperor opened the Imperial Library of China in a reserved building in the reconstructed Ming Palace to open this learning to the world. Over his thirty-year reign, the Emperor confiscated and bought a lot of books, including from the West, to make the library a truly national one in scope. With the Russo-Chinese War (1893-9) and the conquest of the Qing remnant in Mongolia and Manchuria, Lee Cheng-chang transported a lot of its manuscripts to Nanjing, where they were kept in the Imperial Library. When, in 1901, Marshal Lee overthrew the Bai dynasty and declared himself president of the new United Provinces of China (Heads of China > 1901-1926 Lee Cheng-chang (Tsuyu-Tungi-Tang) †), he renamed the Library to emphasize its republicanism, and he formally renovated it to make his mark over his twenty-five year long dictatorship, enshrining the Library in its state today. ⮐
  4. During the Liberty and Union War (1868-76), New York City supported the Richmondite government while the rest of New York State supported the Constitutionalist cause. During the Battle of New York that ensued as a result, Richmondites torched gasworks and distilleries, causing massive destruction and a Great Fire despite their defeat. Postwar reconstruction included creating a library worthy of the city, and with endowments and donations it rapidly grew into the premier library of the Americas and, effectively, the national library of the United States of America. ⮐
  5. In the wake of the Punjabi Revolution, the new republic believed the creation of a national library to be a necessary aspect of republican ideology, and thus created one in Lahore on the model of the Bibliothèque Nationale, to the extent of naming it a Punjabization of the word. Its endowment and size expanded rapidly following Prem Nath Kaul's military coup in 1890, as he deposited manuscripts seized from his conquests of the hill kingdoms into it and made it the lynchpin of a national library network as a symbol of the active state. Every regime and administration since has attempted to make their own mark on the system and its central building, if nothing else to plaster their name on it. ⮐
  6. The International Library was a product of the French Wars > Fifth French War (1892-5). The war, and the rise of bombing runs in this era, came with it a peace movement, and within this movement was a French author, Paul Otlet. To democratize knowledge and spread it across borders, he wanted to establish an institution he called the "Mundaneum", that would consolidate the knowledge of humanity and allow it to be transmitted across the world. Successfully campaigning for its inclusion under the Charter for an International Forum, this new institution gathered knowledge of all types - not just books, but also newspapers, magazines, and tabledisks - and sought to link them together. Despite success with using the index card to this end, with the rising Analyzers technology, he sought to use one - the Grand Analyzer of Aix-la-Chappelle - to organize and index this new data, copied in the form of microfilm. Additionally, the International Forum established several branches of the library around the world, with exact replication of its data across them. Most famously, it distilled this data into several encyclopedias, which it transmitted to universities and libraries all across the world for the diffusion of language. With the French Wars > Sixth French War (1937-41), the Aix-la-Chapelle branch was entirely destroyed - however, its microfilm collection, transported to the countryside with the dawn of the war, survived intact, as did replicas of its records in its other branches. With that, the mother branch of the International Library got reconstructed and expanded, and postwar it continued its existing task of consolidating and archiving the information of humanity. ⮐
  7. The Library of Alexandria had, before its fall, contained six microfilm duplicate copies of all its documents. Prior to its fall, these duplicates were all taken to France. While one of them was incorporated into the Bibliothèque Nationale, the other five were instead gifted to various republics as symbols of revolutionary values. Among them was the United States. Despite talk of incorporating them into the Smithsonian collection, they were instead shifted into their own institution in Alexandria, Anacostia state. Since then, this New Library of Alexandria has bloomed into a colossal institution with a special focus on numerized data and an early adopter of analyzer technology. ⮐
  8. This library has its origins among the Habsburg emperors' collection from medieval times. It gradually expanded over time and incorporated a great number of books from across the Habsburg lands and Germany itself. With the unification of Germany under Habsburg leadership in 1884, it expanded even further as it served as a library of deposit, and despite the Hungarian War of Independence it retained its Hungarian collection. During the French Wars > Sixth French War (1937-41), the Hofburg faced attack from long-range Véronique missiles, destroying part of the library. Postwar, with the Heads of Germany > *1943-1949 Interregnum*, the library was separated from national authority, and with the Perpetual Capitulation of 1949 and election of a Wettin to the throne, this was made permanent. In an act of magnanimity, the Head of the House of Habsburg - reduced to Archduke of Austria and King of Bohemia - opened the library to the whole nation and moved out of the Hofburg to make room for more books. It has maintained being Germany's premiere collection as a result. ⮐
  9. In the nineteenth century, Egypt fell under French influence, although formally it continued to be ruled by its weak sultan. In this environment, a number of French businessmen seeking to "revive" the days of old founded what they intended to be a distant successor to the Library of Alexandria. As a repository of important documents to the French colonial empire, it grew rapidly. However, then came the Egyptian Revolution (1948-52), and France was too busy rebuilding after French Wars > Sixth French War (1937-41) to secure its colonial interests. The Library became important to the Egyptian war effort as a symbol of French influence, and its administrators wanting to preserve it surrendered it without a shot. It was thence re-founded as a national library and object of much pride. ⮐
  10. With the restoration of Chhatrapati Shahu III to real power over his hereditary prime minister in 1891, he committed himself to reform to secure his power. With the assistance of a consultative assembly, he moved against Brahmins by making reservations in administration and universities for non-Brahmins, and he formally nationalized all Hindu temples in Maharashtra, to be run from the hands of his appointees. As part of this grand takeover, he gathered a great many manuscripts, a personal collection for him and his favorites. This status quo continued for most of his reign, until British Wars > Hindustani War of Independence (1936-9) saw Maharashtra end its alliance with the British and the rise of a pro-democracy movement, and the grisly fate of many Hindustani aristocrats showed Shahu what would happen if he did nothing. When he finally accepted ministerial responsibility in 1945, his new diwan sought to make this great library available for the people. Eventually, after much negotiation, it was made a public library, but with the Hindu character of most manuscripts, it was a temple library and formally endowed under the goddess of knowledge. Despite talk of secularizing this collection as part of some mooted separation of religion and state, there is little chance of this, and the Mahapustakalaya has since become a site of some pilgrimage. ⮐
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  12. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the city had a chance to be rebuilt almost from scratch - and with it being the economic and cultural center of Buenaventura, it had the resources too. Taking cues from New York, it was now to have a vast library at its very core, and it opened to much fanfare early in reconstruction, and it was swiftly endowed with nationalism by being named after the first General Director of Buenaventura. Its empty grandeur was gradually filled as its librarians acquired vast collections, many of them from across the Pacific, becoming the greatest library of the West Coast. ⮐
  13. Endowed under the fortune of James Smithson, further enhanced by a number of effective stock market bets, the Smithsonian in short succession became one of the United States' greatest institution. For much of this, it only had a working library, but this changed following the Liberty and Union War (1868-76), as the Smithsonian became the center of the National University of the United States of America. Its library grew with it as a result. ⮐
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  15. The Lunar Society was a historic eighteenth century scientific society in Birmingham, which mostly collapsed in the wake of the royalist Priestley Riots of 1791. After the British Wars > Popular Revolution (1827-9) in 1827 and Dissenter emancipation, it saw a revival, and in 1849 it became the core of the University of Birmingham, one of many land-grant universities endowed with former Crown land. Its library later became the seed of the new university's own library. ⮐
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