Harvard Library

Harvard Library is the network of Harvard University's libraries and services. It is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic library and largest private library in the world. Its collection holds over 20 million volumes, 400 million manuscripts, 10 million photographs, and one million maps. Harvard Library holds the third largest collection of all libraries in the nation after the Library of Congress and Boston Public Library. Based on the number of items held, it is the fifth largest library in the United States. Harvard Library is a member of the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP); other members include Columbia University Libraries, Princeton University Library, New York Public Library, and Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation, making over 90 million books available to the library's users.    The library is open to current Harvard affiliates, and some events and spaces are open to the public. The largest and most recognized building in the Harvard Library system is Widener Library in Harvard Yard. History Harvard's library system grew primarily from personal donations, including from John Harvard and John Hull. John Harvard was a Puritan minister who accumulated 400 books spreading word of his faith. These volumes were left to Harvard, initiating the library's collection. The works in this collection soon became obsolete, as Harvard Library quickly changed to an academic institute and found little need for the theological titles.