private libraries
Home book collections
Private libraries are book collections owned by individuals or organizations rather than open to the general public.
Historically, private libraries were marks of wealth and scholarship—His private library contained first editions worth millions.
The term also refers to members-only lending libraries that charge fees for access, as opposed to free public libraries.
- shelfHorizontal storage surface
- personal collectionItems one has assembled
- rare booksUncommon valuable printed works
- leather boundEncased in treated animal skin
- manuscriptsHandwritten or typed originals
family archives · bequeathed · estate sale · exclusive access · ex libris · book plates · literary salons · bibliophile · reading rooms · folios · leisure reading · sanctuary · book auctions · collections · musty · ladders · oak · mahogany
- librarieslibrarians, librarian, public library, library card, library cards
- book collectingbibliophiles, first editions, rare books, first edition, antiquarian
- private institutionsreligious schools, boarding schools, prep schools, academies, seminaries
- collectiblesbaseball cards, commemorative stamps, rare coins, mementos, rare stamps
- library termsshelf, bookshelf, book selection, community library, spine
- archivesnational archives, state archives, archivist, archive box, national archive
private librariespublic libraries
Free community book-lending facilities
municipal libraries · community libraries · state libraries · national libraries · county libraries
private librariesLibrary of Congress
U.S. national repository of knowledge
British Library · university libraries · research libraries · academic libraries · national archives