Etymology : Middle English, from Medieval Latin librarium, from Latin, neuter of librarius of books, from libr-, liber inner bark, rind, book
Pronunciation : lI-"brer-E;
British usually
Function : noun
Date : 14th century
1. place where one can borrow books; collection of programs and commands used to build a program from source code in a programming language (Computers). library\li"bra*ry\ (lī"br&asl;*r&ybreve;), n.; pl. libraries (-r&ibreve;z). [oe. librairie, f. librairie bookseller's shop, book trade, formerly, a library, fr. libraire bookseller, l. librarius, from liber book; cf. libraria bookseller's shop, librarium bookcase, it. libreria. see:
libel.].
2. a considerable collection of books kept for use, and not as merchandise; as, a private library; a public library.
3. a building or apartment appropriated for holding such a collection of books.library n.
4. a room where books are kept; "they had brandy in the library".
5. a collection of literary documents or records kept for reference or borrowing.
6. a depository built to contain books and other materials for reading and study [syn: depository library].
7. (computing) a collection of standard programs and subroutines that are stored and available for immediate use [syn: program library, subroutine library].
8. a building that houses a collection of books and other materials.
9. A considerable collection of books kept for use, and not as merchandise; as, a private library; a public library.
10. A building or apartment appropriated for holding such a collection of books. a depository built to contain books and other materials for reading and study a room where books are kept; "they had brandy in the library" a building that houses a collection of books and other materials a collection of standard programs and subroutines that are stored and available for immediate use a collection of literary documents or records kept for reference or borrowing.
11. 1. A public library is a building where things such as books, newspapers, videos, and music are kept for people to read, use, or borrow. the local library She issued them library cards.
12. A private library is a collection of things such as books or music, that is normally only used with the permission of the owner. My thanks go to the British School of Osteopathy, for the use of their library. Collection of information resources in print or in other forms that is organized and made accessible for reading or study. The word derives from the Latin liber ("book"). The origin of libraries lies in the keeping of written records, a practice that dates at least to the 3rd millennium BC in Babylonia. The first libraries as repositories of books were those of the Greek temples and those established in conjunction with the Greek schools of philosophy in the 4th century BC. Today's libraries frequently contain periodicals, microfilms, tapes, videos, compact discs, and other materials in addition to books. The growth of on-line communications networks has enabled library users to search electronically linked databases worldwide. See also library science. Alexandria Library of Bodleian Library British Library library classification Library of Congress Library of Congress Classification library science New York Public Library.