Libraries around the world

The World

The Library of Alexandria, Egypt was by most accounts the greatest library of the ancient world. The trouble is it no longer issues library cards � the library is any more. Same goes for the ancient library of Constantinople.

A Monastery in Sinai, Egypt houses a library from the 6th century. But only monks and scholars get to go inside. The Vatican Library has an extraordinary collection as does Catherine the Great’s library in St. Petersburg. But we’re looking for an older library and one that’s open to the public.

1368 is good year to start your search. This was the age of knights and crusaders, and the Ming Dynasty. And it’s when one King Charles V � established a royal library. It packs in over 14-million books. Can you name it?
There are over 14 million books and publications in the library we were looking for in today’s Geo Quiz. The National �bibliotheque� or Library of Paris has been open since 1368. And it’s the answer to our quiz.

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.