Definition of: library

(lī′brer·ē, -brə·rē) noun plural ·brar·ies
1. A collection of books, pamphlets, etc., kept for reading and consultation; especially, such a collection arranged to facilitate reference, as by classification and indexing.
2. A building, an apartment, or a series of apartments containing such a collection: the Library of Congress.
3. A series of books having some characteristic in common issued by the same publisher.
4. A collection of books for recreation or study belonging to a private individual: a doctor's library.
5. A commercial establishment for selling or hiring out books.
—circulating library A library from which books can be taken away under certain restrictions: also lending library: distinguished from a reference library, where books may be consulted but not carried away. [<OF librarie <L librarium <liber, libri book]