The most comprehensive library in the world is the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Its collection includes over 178 million items, including books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, audio recordings, and other materials in more than 470 languages. World's Largest Libraries Below are the leading libraries by the size of their collections. The numbers may vary slightly in different sources, as some include all types of materials while others include only printed publications. Rank Library Location Collection Size 1 Library of Congress USA, Washington, D.C. 178 million items 2 British Library United Kingdom, London 170 million items 3 Russian State Library Russia, Moscow 128 million items 4 Shanghai Library China, Shanghai 58 million items 5 New York Public Library USA, New York 56 million items Other Large Depositories Library Location Collection Size Library and Archives Canada Ottawa over 50 million items National Diet Library of Japan Tokyo, Kyoto about 47.5 million items National Library of China Beijing over 45 million items German National Library ... Read more