List of the largest libraries in the United States
The largest public library in the United States—and the largest library in the world—is the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., which is the "de facto" national library of the United States. It holds more than 167 million items, including "more than 39 million books and other printed materials, 3.6 million recordings, 14.8 million photographs, 5.5 million maps, 8.1 million pieces of sheet music and 72 million manuscripts." Other than the Library of Congress, the largest public library in the United States is the New York Public Library, while the largest research library in the United States is the Harvard Library.
Widener Library
The ninety-unit Harvard Library system, of which Widener is the anchor, is the only academic library among the world's five "megalibraries"Widener, the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, France's Bibliothèque Nationale, and the British Librarymaking it "unambiguously the greatest university library in the world," in the words of a Harvard official.