The ten largest libraries in the world by self-reported collection size, from the British Library and Library of Congress to Germany's National Library.
The British Library ranks first at 200 million items (2023), the Library of Congress second at 178 million (fiscal 2023) and Turkey's Nation's Library third at 141.7 million. On the British Library's own 'over 170 million' figure, the Library of Congress would be first. Totals are self-reported, from Wikipedia's List of largest libraries, read 18 October 2026.
The world's biggest libraries count their holdings in the hundreds of millions: books, but also manuscripts, maps, sound recordings, newspapers, patents and, increasingly, digital material. Only two, the British Library and the Library of Congress, report more than 150 million items. This list ranks libraries by the collection totals compiled in Wikipedia's List of largest libraries (read 18 October 2026), which uses figures the libraries publish themselves. Those totals are not counted the same way and come from different years, so treat the ranking as indicative: small gaps, and the order of the top two, depend on how each library counts.
The British Library, the UK's national library, gave its collection as more than 200 million items in 2023, gathered largely through legal deposit. Its own collection page uses a lower 'over 170 million'; on that figure it would rank second, behind the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress reports more than 178 million items (fiscal 2023), of which about 25.8 million are catalogued books and about 138.5 million are in special collections such as manuscripts, photographs and maps. It is the research library of the U.S. Congress.
Turkey's Nation's Library of the Presidency, opened in Ankara in 2020, states a collection of 141.7 million items. The library does not say how much of that is digital or licensed electronic material; it provides access to large subscribed databases of e-books, dissertations and articles.
Russia's main national library in Moscow, formerly the Lenin Library, reported 128.6 million items in its 2025 statistical summary. That is far above the 47.7 million it gave for 2020, which suggests a change in what is counted; the summary does not explain the difference.
The Shanghai Library states holdings of 58 million items on its own website, the largest figure for any library in China in this compilation.
The New York Public Library reported 55 million items in its 2009 annual report, the most recent total in the compilation. It operates 92 locations in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island.
Denmark's Royal Library reported 45.3 million physical items in its 2025 annual report, excluding its digital collections. Since 2006 Danish legal deposit has covered electronic publications, and the library harvests copies of the Danish web each year.
The National Library of China in Beijing lists 44.24 million items in its collection overview, the largest national-library figure in Asia in this compilation.
Japan's National Diet Library, which serves both the national legislature and the public, gave its holdings as 44.1 million items in its published statistics.
The German National Library, with main sites in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main, reported 43.7 million items in its 2021 annual report.
| # | Name | Location | Figure as of | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | British Library | London and Boston Spa, UK | 2023 | National library |
| 2 | Library of Congress | Washington, D.C., USA | FY2023 | National / legislative library |
| 3 | Nation's Library | Ankara, Turkey | 2025 | Public / presidential library |
| 4 | Russian State Library | Moscow, Russia | 2025 | National library |
| 5 | Shanghai Library | Shanghai, China | Undated (page read 2024) | Public / research library |
| 6 | New York Public Library | New York City, USA | 2009 | Public library system |
| 7 | Royal Danish Library | Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark | 2025 | National / university library |
| 8 | National Library of China | Beijing, China | Undated (page read 2024) | National library |
| 9 | National Diet Library | Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan | 2017 (statistics page) | National / legislative library |
| 10 | German National Library | Leipzig and Frankfurt, Germany | 2021 | National library |
Libraries are ranked by the 'catalogued size (number of items)' figure in Wikipedia's List of largest libraries, read on 18 October 2026; every figure there is one the library itself published. An 'item' is whatever the library counts as one: books and serial volumes, manuscripts, maps, prints, photographs, sound and music recordings and, for some libraries, digital holdings. There is no common standard, and the figures date from different years (from 2009 for the New York Public Library to 2025 for the Royal Danish Library, Russian State Library and Nation's Library), as noted for each entry. Known comparability problems: the British Library's figure is the '200 million+' it gave in a 2023 blog post, while its own collection page says 'over 170 million', which would put the Library of Congress (178 million+, fiscal 2023) first. The Russian State Library's 128.6 million (2025) is far above the 47.7 million it reported for 2020, and neither it nor Turkey's Nation's Library (141.7 million) states whether digital or licensed electronic items are included. The Royal Danish Library's 45.3 million counts physical items only. The Bibliothèque nationale de France (41.66 million) ranks eleventh. No ties occur.
It depends on which figure you use. The British Library gave its collection as more than 200 million items in 2023, but its own collection page says over 170 million. The Library of Congress reports more than 178 million items (fiscal 2023). Both are far ahead of every other library.
Each library sets its own rules. Most count every physical item (books, serial volumes, manuscripts, maps, recordings and so on); some also count digital files or licensed electronic content, and some count bound volumes rather than individual issues. That is why totals for different libraries are not strictly comparable.
Most national libraries admit adults for reading and research, usually with registration or a reader's pass, and rare items generally have to be requested in advance. Public systems such as the New York Public Library are open to everyone.
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