library

A  library  (from the  ancient Greek  βιβλιοθήκη  :  biblio , "book";  thêkê , "deposit") is the place where is kept and read an organized collection of  books . There are private libraries and  public libraries . Libraries often offer other  documents (newspapers, periodicals, sound recordings, video recordings, maps and plans, scores) as well as access to the  Internet  and are sometimes called  media libraries  or  informatics .

The majority of libraries (municipal, university) authorize the loan of their documents for free; others (the  Public Library of Information in particular) only on-site consultation. They can then be divided into  reading rooms , open to the public, and in  closed stores , for the storage of less consulted books. Other spaces, open or not, may be added.

In 2010, with over 144.5 million documents, including 21.8 million books, the world's largest library is the  Congress Library  in  Washington DC . Nevertheless, the cumulative collection of books of the two  Russian national libraries  reaches 32.5 million volumes and the collection of the  British Library  150 million articles. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization  the oldest library in the world is still operating in the Quaraouiyine library   of  Fez  in  Moroccoit contains 4000 invaluable manuscripts that belonged to universal scientists such as the geographer  Al Idrissi , the botanist  Al-Ghassani , or the doctor  Avenzoar .