Thanks to everyone who emailed answers and websites. Yes the Library of
Congress is the largest library in the US and the World. There are a libraries
that mail books to patrons. I've included the websites and locations sent to me.
Thanks again for the help.
Andre Taylor,Librarian
Houston ES
Washington DC
_divalibrarian@aol.com_ (mailto:divalibrarian@aol.com)
The world's largest library and the largest library in the U.S. are the
same. The Library of Congress. See
http://www.museumspot.com/ask/largestlibrary.htm
Library books are sent by mail by many libraries, including libraries
cooperating in interlibrary loan. Our Texas State Library mails out books
to patrons, the Talking Books Program in each state (sponsored by the
Library of Congress) mails out millions of books on tape to blind and
physically disabled patrons
Shirley Lukenbill, Librarian
Wooldridge Elementary, Austin (TX) ISD
and Lecturer, School of Information
University of Texas at Austin
For your first question, it depends on what you mean by largest.
See http://www.libraryspot.com/features/largestlibraries.htm
and yes, I return library books frequently by mail
to the libraries that own them.
Try the guinness book of world records for Q1.
I think the US Library of Congress is the largest in the world -- do
you want largest in terms of number of volumes, miles of shelving,
floor space, etc?
I'd say, sure, why not? Why can't library books be sent by USPS mail?
Hi,
I'm not at school but I'm pretty sure the largest library in the USA is
the Library of Congress. Our local public library mails books to it's
patrons. It's a wonderful service. I can go online to their website,
reserve a title, and it'll come in the mail. They do not charge for this
service. They figured out that it would cost them more (more parking,
space, and staff) to have patrons come in to pick up requested books. If
one of my students returns one of our books to the public library they mail
it to me. I'm not sure why this question came up but I can think of no
reason why mailing library books would be a problem.
Joanne Proctor, Librarian
Most Pure Heart of Mary School
Topeka, KS
I got this answer by putting the term "world's largest library" into
Google.com
The answer indicates that the largest library is in the US
http://www.museumspot.com/ask/largestlibrary.htm
*********************************************
Josephine G. Dervan, Library Media Specialist
Strathmore Elementary School, Aberdeen, NJ
I went to www.answers.com and typed in largest library and got this.
You live near the largest!
"Russian State Library (RSL), Russia's national library, located in
Moscow; the largest library in Europe and the second largest in the
world (the Library of Congress is the largest). Moscow's first public
library, the RSL was founded in 1862 as the library portion of the
Moscow Public Museum and Rumyantsev Museum. In 1924 it was renamed for
V. I. Lenin, who, after the Russian Revolution, played an important role
in its reorganization, supplementing its original collection with the
contents of many confiscated private collections. The following year it
became the country's national library. Renamed the Russian State Library
in 1992, it has its main headquarters in a grand collonaded building
constructed from the 1930s through the 50s. Russia's national book
depository, the RSL now has a collection of more than 41 million items
in Russian and 247 other languages. It includes some 16.5 million books
and brochures, 13 million journals, 650,000 newspapers, and 1.2 million
serials. Among its specialized collections are maps, printed music,
manuscripts, rare and precious books, and art publications."
--
Francie Aley
Boothbay Region HS
Home of the Information Resource Retrievers!!
Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538
I posed your questions on AskJeeves and got this answer:
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the U.S. and also in the
world. It has over 118 million items.
Can library books be sent through the mail? No doubt about this one. I
live in an area where the regional library system promotes its mail program for
shut-ins and others who find it difficult to get into town to visit the
library. I believe the Post Office even has a special rate for library
materials...at least it used to.
Interlibrary loan has been around for a LONG time (Duke Univ. and Univ. of
NC at Chapel Hill were using it when I was a student there in the early
1960's.) Mail is the primary way of sending books in this instance unless the
libraries involved have their own van service between branches.
I'm sure someone else will spring in with the current largest libraries, but
I can tell you that library books can be sent by mail. I used to work in the
circ department of a public library and we had an outreach program for
homebound people and they sent and returned books through the mail, the library
paid postage both ways so they could mail from home. You do have to pay to mail
them like anything else, but you can send them book rate.
Sarah S. Uthoff
Reference librarian
Kirkwood Community College
Cedar Rapids, IA
The largest library in the US is the Library of Congress, per Guinness Book
of World Records. I believe it's also the largest library in the world, but
you'd want to check their sites.
Our public library has a books by mail program.
Louise Colette Leonard
Librarian
Solomon Schechter Day School Library
Jacksonville Jewish Center
Jacksonville, FL
The answer to your first question is the Library of Congress. It is the
largest library in the U.S. and the world.
Kathy Carlson
Bench Elementary
Hello,
Here is a web site that tells you the largest library - one right near you!
It is both the largest in the US and in the world.
_http://www.museumspot.com/ask/largestlibrary.htm_
(http://www.museumspot.com/ask/largestlibrary.htm)
The Library of Congress is a research library -- their materials must be
used on the premises. You can get more information about them at their website
--- _http://www.loc.gov/about/index.html_
(http://www.loc.gov/about/index.html)
If you go to frequently asked questions you should get all the answers you
need.
Good luck,
Harriet Rothstein
Western Suffolk BOCES School Library System Director, Retired
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest library is the
Library of Congress with over 118 million items and 500 miles of shelves.
As for mailing library book, are you asking about finding a library book
from an online catalog, and having the book mailed to you, then mailing it back?
That answer is yes, as long as the patron has library privileges. For
example, a university library could mail a book to a distance education student.
Or, perhaps a public library could mail a book to a homebound patron.
Interlibrary loan, of course, allows for books to travel across the country from
one
library to another by mail.
Donna Trenda
St. Anne School
Barrington, Il
What is the world's largest library?
The United States Library of Congress in Washington D.C. ranks as the
largest library in the world. How large is it?
The nation's library holds over 118 million items which require more than
500 miles of shelving.
Source: Guinness World Records
Of course, library books can be sent by mail. There is even a postal rate
called "book rate".
See http://pe.usps.gov/text/pub51/51tbld.html#_Toc498745173
--------------------------------------------------------------------
All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/el-announce/
LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LM_NET
Mailing List Home