From ancient libraries to largest collections – everything you need to know about books
Thousands of years ago, humans began cataloguing their experiences and discoveries about the world in libraries.
Technically speaking, the first ‘library’ ever discovered was in the ancient city of Elba, now located in western Syria, and dating back around 2350 BCE. Known as the oldest written archive because the 2,500 inscribed clay tablets were found in the ruins of the city's royal palace, and contained information on land ownership, trade deals and dictionaries for translating languages – specifically not a library with written literary works, but rather a detailed description of running a large state – this archive was nonetheless the precursor to our modern understanding of a library.
Scholars nowadays think of libraries as consisting primarily of written books and written materials (such as poetry, stories, travelogues, research, etc.) that were intentionally collected, overseen by dedicated staff, and has formalized procedures for lending and/or providing access to the collection. While an aristocrat's country house might contain a private collection of books, and be a secret collection of a sort, it's unlikely to have professional staff to oversee it nor for there to be formal procedures for borrowing or accessing books.
Nevertheless, a number of these ancient institutions do meet these categories – famously, the Library of Alexandria, which burned down in a siege by Julius Caesar in 48 BCE.
Luckily, a number of these classic buildings have miraculously survived the ages, and for hundreds of years – if not thousands – they have chronicled the rise and fall of civilizations and the lives of those around the world through these preserved stories.
We pay testament to these incredible institutions in the 2026 edition of Guinness World Records, which features an entire spread about libraries ranging from ancient to modern, hidden or public, and largest to smallest.
So keep reading if you’d like to get a taste of these record-breaking stories!
First library
Somewhere between 668 and 631 BCE, Ashurbanipal, the last great King of the Assyrians, transformed his family’s archive in Nineveh (in present-day northern Iraq, near Mosul) into the first library ever found.
Notably, Ashurbanipal was a dedicated reader and collector of written works, who liked to be portrayed in official statues with both a sword and a writing stylus. He was unusually highly educated for a king, perhaps because he was third in line for the throne and would have received a scholar’s or religious leader’s education.
Photo of Ashurbanipal.
In Ashurbanipal’s library, he wanted to collect all written knowledge of earlier times under one roof, including texts on divination, religion, language, medicine, magic, ritual, history, poetry, folktales and myths. He commissioned an army of scribes to copy and create new texts, and also used his enormous power and influence to acquire texts from his vassals and neighbours.
His collection was also deemed the first library for the evidence of careful management and organization. Each tablet contains a colophon – what would now be called the tablet's metadata – which records what number it is in a series and how it is to be filed, as well as a "library stamp" establishing that it belongs to Ashurburnipal's collection. There were often multiple copies of each work, and the care that has been taken in the filing suggests that a large number of people had access to this library and made use of the texts.
A colophon. Photo credit: Science History Images/Alamy
Perhaps the most important treasure of the Library of Ashurbanipal is the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest surviving literary works. It tells the story of a mythological hero, Gilgamesh, and his battles with gods and monsters. This epic poem is thought to have been a major influence on the writers of ancient times.
First digital library
Conversely, the first digital library was established in 1971 as Project Gutenberg by American author Michael S. Hart, as a digital effort to archive cultural items and spread the use of eBooks.
Named after the Gutenberg Bible – the oldest mechanically printed book, which was created in Mainz, Germany c.1455 – Project Gutenberg was originally set up with the aim of making 10,000 of the most consulted books available to the public at little or no cost.
The project began with the digitization of the US Declaration of Independence, and currently offers over 75,000 ebooks free of charge.
Largest library
The largest library in the world, and also a stop on our record-breaking road trip of America – is the United States Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Located in America’s capital city, the US Library of Congress adds approximately 12,000 items to its collections daily, and is home to over 173,731,463 items (as of November 2021).
Spread across approximately 838 miles of bookshelves, the collection includes 41 million books and other print materials, 4.1 million recordings, 15 million photographs, 5.6 million maps and 75 million manuscripts.
The historic core of the collection was provided by Founding Father Thomas Jefferson in 1812, though most of its modern holdings come from the copyright registration process, which requires publishers to share two copies of every book sold in America.
Largest secret library
Also found in America is the world’s largest secret library, at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Located in Langley, Virginia, the library holds some 125,000 books, as well as numerous periodicals and reports.
Most of the material in the library is not classified, but the details of its holdings remain an official secret, as just the catalogue data could give information about the agency's interests. Library cards are only granted to US government employees with the relevant security clearances.
Sub categories within the CIA collection that have been disclosed include the "Historical Intelligence Collection" and "The Whaley Denial and Deception Collection", which apparently contains books on confidence tricks, secret communication methods and sleight of hand.
And if you're looking for more ways on how to do tricks like sleight of hand, odds are you can find whatever book you're looking for at your local library. But if you'd like to read more about these interesting institutions and our history of collecting knowledge? Check out the 2026 edition of Guinness World Records!
Header image: Dinendra Haria/Alamy