The International Magazine, Volume 2, No. 3, February, 1851

by Various

France	has	107	public libraries,	containing	4,000,000	vols.
Prussia	"	44	"	"	2,400,000	"
Austria	"	48	"	"	2,400,000	"
Great Britain	"	33	"	"	1,771,000	"
Bavaria	"	17	"	"	1,267,000	"
Denmark	"	5	"	"	645,000	"
Saxony	"	6	"	"	554,000	"
Belgium	"	14	"	"	538,000	"
Tuscany	"	9	"	"	411,000	"

Taking the capital cities, we find the following results:—

Paris	has	9	public libraries,	containing	1,474,000	vols.
Munich	"	2	"	"	800,000	"
Copenhagen	"	3	"	"	557,000	"
Berlin	"	2	"	"	530,000	"
London	"	4	"	"	490,500	"
Vienna	"	3	"	"	453,000	"
Dresden	"	4	"	"	340,500	"
Florence	"	6	"	"	318,000	"
Milan	"	2	"	"	230,000	"
Brussels	"	2	"	"	143,500	"

Arranging these libraries according to their extent, or number of printed books, they would stand as follows:—

	Printed Books.	Manuscripts.
Paris (1), National Library,	824,000	80,000	vols.
Munich, Royal Library,	600,000	22,000	"
St. Petersburg, Imperial Library,	446,000	20,650	"
London, British Museum,	435,000	31,000	"
Copenhagen, Royal Library,	412,000	3,000	"
Berlin, Royal Library,	410,000	5,000	"
Vienna, Imperial Library,	313,000	16,000	"
Dresden, Royal Library,	300,000	2,800	"
Wolfenbuttel, Ducal Library,	200,000	4,580	"
Madrid, National Library,	200,000	2,500	"
Stuttgard, Royal Library,	187,000	3,300	"
Paris (2), Arsenal Library,	180,000	6,000	"
Milan, Brera Library,	170,000	1,000	"
Darmstadt, Grand Ducal Library,	150,000	4,000	"
Paris (3), St. Genevieve Library,	150,000	2,000	"
Florence, Magliabecchian Library,	150,000	12,000	"
Naples, Royal Library,	150,000	3,000	"
Edinburgh, Advocates' Library,	148,000	2,000	"
Brussels, Royal Library,	133,500	18,000	"
Rome (1), Casanata Library,	120,000	4,500	"
Hague, Royal Library,	100,000	2,000	"
Paris (4), Mazarin Library,	100,000	4,000	"
Rome (2), Vatican Library,	100,000	24,000	"
Parma, Ducal Library,	100,000		"

The chief university libraries may be ranked in the following order:—

	Printed Books.	Manuscripts.
Gottingen, University Library,	360,000	3,000	vols.
Breslau, University Library,	250,000	2,300	"
Oxford, Bodleian Library,	220,000	21,000	"
Tubingen, University Library,	200,000	1,900	"
Munich, University Library,	200,000	2,000	"
Heidelberg, University Library,	200,000	1,800	"
Cambridge, University Library,	166,000	3,163	"
Bologna, University Library,	150,000	400	"
Prague, University Library,	130,000	4,000	"
Vienna, University Library,	115,000		"
Leipsic, University Library,	112,000	2,500	"
Copenhagen, University Library,	110,000		"
Turin, University Library,	110,000	2,000	"
Louvain, University Library,	105,000	246	"
Dublin, Trinity College Library,	104,239	1,512	"
Upsal, University Library,	100,000	5,000	"
Erlangen, University Library,	100,000	1,000	"
Edinburgh, University Library,	90,354	310	"

The largest libraries in Great Britain are those of the

	Printed Books.	Manuscripts.
British Museum, London,	435,000	31,000	"
Bodleian, Oxford,	220,000	21,000	"
University, Cambridge,	166,724	3,163	"
Advocates', Edinburgh,	148,000	2,000	"
Trinity College, Dublin,	104,239	1,512	"

There are in the United States of America at least 81 libraries of 5000 volumes and upwards each, to which the public, more or less restrictedly, have access, and of these 49 are immediately connected with colleges or public schools. The aggregate number of volumes in these collections is about 980,413. We subjoin the contents of a few of the largest:—