Harvard Library

Harvard Library
Widener Library, the largest and primary library of Harvard University
Map
42°22′24″N 71°07′07″W / 42.3733923°N 71.1186862°W / 42.3733923; -71.1186862
LocationCambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
TypeAcademic library system of Harvard University
Established1638[1]
Branches28
Collection
Items collected16,832,952 volumes held, 180,000 serial titles, an estimated 400 million manuscript items, 10 million photographs, 124 million archived web pages, and 5.4 terabytes of born-digital archives and manuscripts.[2]
Size16,832,952 volumes held (2022)
Access and use
Circulation733,890[3] (2013)
Other information
BudgetUS$250 million (2020)
DirectorMartha Whitehead
Employeesaround 800 total (2020)[2]
Websitelibrary.harvard.edu

Harvard Library is the network of libraries and services at Harvard University, a private Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Library is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic library and largest private library in the world.[4][5] Its collection holds over 20 million volumes, 400 million manuscripts, 10 million photographs, and one million maps.[6]

Harvard Library holds the third-largest collection of all libraries in the world, after the Library of Congress and Boston Public Library, by number of volumes held.[7] Among libraries, measured on the number of all items held, it is the fifth-largest library in the nation.[8] Harvard Library is a member of the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP); other members include Columbia University Libraries, Princeton University Library, New York Public Library, and Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation, making over 90 million books available to the library's users.[9]   

The library is open to current Harvard affiliates, and some events and spaces are open to the public. The largest and most recognized building in the Harvard Library system is Widener Library in Harvard Yard.

  1. ^ Harvard Library (February 14, 2011). "About the Harvard Library". Harvard Library. Harvard University. Archived from the original on January 7, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Harvard Media Relations. "Quick Facts". Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  3. ^ Harvard University (2013). "Harvard Library Annual Report FY 2013". Harvard Library. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  4. ^ Karl, Thomas (1998). Toward an Earth Science Enterprise Federation: Results from a Workshop. National Academies Press. p. 27. ISBN 0-309-06134-2.
  5. ^ Pezzi, Bryan (2000). Massachusetts. Weigl Publishers. p. 15. ISBN 1-930954-35-2.
  6. ^ "Harvard Library | Harvard University - The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences". gsas.harvard.edu. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  7. ^ ALA Library Fact Sheet 2022, American Library Association.
  8. ^ American Library Association, "ALA Library Fact Sheet 22 – The Nation's Largest Libraries: A Listing by Volumes Held". October 2012.
  9. ^ "Harvard Library joins forces to bring 90 million books to users". Harvard Gazette. June 6, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.