[image description: 11 Public Libraries Invaluable to World History. Library at St. Catherine Monastery — South Sinai, Egypt. Built circa 548-565. Amount of books: 3,300 manuscripts in Greek, Arabic, Syriac, Georgian and Slavic. History: World’s second largest collection of early scrolls and manuscripts. UNESCO World Heritage site. Reopened in 2017 after a three year restoration. Khizanat Al Qarawiyyin — Fes, Morocco. Built circa 859. Amount of books: 4,000 rare texts and ancient Arabic manuscripts. History: World’s oldest library and operating university. Founded by Fatima al Fihria. Reopened in 2016 after a three year restoration. Raza Library — Rampur, India. Founded in 1774. Amount of books: 17,000 manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi, and Turkish; 80,000 additional books. History: One of the oldest and most important libraries in South Asia. Created by Nawab Faizullah Khan’s personal collection. The Tianyi Pavilion Library — Ningbo, China. Built in 1561. Amount of books: 300,000 ancient books and historical records, 80,000 are very rare. History: Third oldest private library in the world; open to the public. Created by Fan Qin. Royal Library of the El Escorial Monastery — San Lorenzo de el Escorial, Spain. Founded in 1563. Amount of books: 40 000 books and some 2 700 manuscripts from the 5C-18C. History: Operated as a monastery, royal palace, pantheon, library, museum, university, school and hospital. Historical residence of the King of Spain. UNESCO World Heritage site. Created as a monument to the Spanish monarchs. Trinity College Library — Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1592. Amount of books: 5 million books, mostly held off campus, but available to order. History: A legal deposit library; holds a copy of every book printed in Ireland and the UK. Trinity alumni have access to the library after graduation. Biblioteca Palafoxiana — Puebla, México. Established in 1646. Amount of books: 45,000 rare books and manuscripts. History: Oldest library in the Americas. Declared a “Memory of the World” site by UNESCO. National Mexican Historic Landmark. Created by Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. The Clementinum Library Hall — Prague, Czech Republic. Opened in 1722. Amount of books: 20,000 books dating back to 880. History: Rare books were given to Google to be made available online. A functioning part of the Clementinum University. Stiftsbibliothek Admont — Admont, Austria. Completed in 1776. Amount of books: 70,000 volumes — 1,400 are highly valuable manuscripts from the 8th century and 530 are books printed before 1500. History: Largest monastery library hall in the world. Built by Josef Hueber. Visitors can explore the library without a guide. Real Gabinete Português de Leitura — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Built in 1837. Amount of books: 350,000 books from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. History: Receives a copy of every work published in Portuguese. State Library of New South Wales — Sydney, Australia. Built in 1845. Amount of books: Holds over 5 million items in its collection. History: Oldest library in Australia. First public library of New South Wales. Books document the heritage of Australia and Oceania.]