Despite of the modern breakthrough these days, the traditional way of researching for specific information is still being accessed through hundreds and even thousands of books found in nearby libraries in your places. It’s true that convenience matters that in just a few clicks, you’ll get to see in matter of seconds, the details of the material that you are trying to explore because of the power of search engines that can be utilized through the power of the internet. However, with the upcoming International World Book Day on March 14, 2013, everyone is invited to support the cause of obtaining knowledge by immersing oneself to the best selection of tangible books. This is the best time, especially to the youth of today who are so engrossed with all the gizmos available at the moment. Of course, they are valuable today, but the substance and intelligence that you’ll get from scrutinizing wisdom that you will perceive cannot be equated for a specific cost. Knowledge is indeed power, and with these top 10 oldest libraries in the world, you’ll know that they still exist. They may not be the most convenient of places for you to study, but you’ll get to appreciate that you can thumb on the pages of books found in libraries.

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This is an Academic Library built and founded in 1602, which is located at the University of Oxford    in England. It is the second largest library in Britain, next to the British Library, but it’s one of the oldest libraries that you can see in Europe. Its popular names like “the bod” and “Bodley” were actually given by most of the Oxford Scholars, in order to set their comfort zone by calling it with names that they could call their own. When it had its opening in 1602, it had a total collection of 2,000 books. There were books donated in the next 150 years, and its original structure had expanded over time to cater to manuscripts and books registered in the library. In fact, in 1911, it was known as one of the copyright libraries in UK under the United Kingdom Copyright Act. It is located in Broadstreet, Oxford where you could see the legal deposit Libraries Act 2003 and other collections.

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It is the research point in Belgium, wherein it serves two functions as a central research and a national library to the citizens of the country, especially to students. It is a national library because of the Act of Parliament that instituted the Copyright Deposit that automatically mandates all publishers to deposit a copy of their works in this said research and information facility. It has six departments which includes the National Documentation, Legal Deposit, and Belgian Bibliography.

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It is more known as a court Library, and it’s the second largest library in Germany when it comes to size. It also serves as a              national library that caters to digitizing all the materials before the 1700s. Some of its impressive collections are rare books and manuscripts. It has an approximately 650 librarians serving the people because of its 8.3 million books, along with other acquisitions that it had previously like the 88,600 manuscripts, 38,000 copies of non-book material, 40,000 titles of serials, 20,000 incunabula, and other printed materials. The government even invested €20 million for the digitizing process of the old materials and manuscripts.

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It is much better known as the Bibliotheca Publica and its establishment became possible because of the decree, which was issued by Fra’ Claude de la Sengle, Grand Master of the Order of St. John. Under this decree, all the deceased knights were required to go to the common treasury of order. Of course, the primary collections that you’ll get to see that time were Fra’ Louis Guérin de Tencin’s. In fact, it was even renamed after him for quite some time, carrying this designation of Bibliotheca Tanseana. It’s the same reason why people acknowledged him as the founder of this library. By 1796, after a successful setup of the New Public Library in Floriana, this Library became known as the National Library of Malta since it serves as a reference and research library from that time forward. Legal Deposits have been imposed under Act No. II of 1925.

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The institution of the Vatican Library in Rome, Italy is being attributed to two persons. One was Pope Nicholas V and the other was Sixtus IV. To clear the history about it, the idea of having a public library came from Nicholas V, while Sixtus IV made it a reality. Nonetheless, the argument was not who would take the credit, but the benefit that it gave, it gives, and would give in the future. It is also known as the Library of the Holy See, since it’s physically and exactly located in the city of Vatican. It keeps important historical texts although according to its timeline, its establishment was made even before 1475. In 2007 it was closed for renovation. After it was rebuilt, it was reopened to the public in 2010. As of the moment, it holds more than 1.1 million printed books, 75,000 manuscripts and other items.

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In English, it’s called as the National Library of France, which is located in Paris. According to records, the real founder of this library was Louis XI who actually reigned between 1461 until 1483. The main reason for its inception was the continuity of royal collections despite of their demise. It does not only serve the people in Paris, but even the scientific community globally. It has 30 million items, which includes 14 million books, publications, 5,000 Greek manuscripts, and other digital documents. Although the original idea came from Charles V, he had his personal library that started when he received his predecessor’s collections.

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Also known as Hof-Bibliothek for being formed by the Habsburg, it is the main library in Austria since 1368, located in Hofburg Palace in Vienna. It also became the first imperial library in the history of the country being the largest, as it keeps about 7.4 million items of various collections. The name was replaced to the National Library of Austria in 1920 where it is composed of four museums, archives, and special collections.

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This is not just one of the oldest libraries on earth, but it is also one of the largest libraries that serve more than 1 million readers each year. In fact, it serves everyone who is over 18 years old, whether you are a student, scholar, teacher, and even a scientist. You are free to visit this place and borrow a book as there are about 1 million books that being lent from this bibliotheca. Its foundation happened in association with its connection to the formation of the Prague University in 1348. It has received great support internationally and even from UNESCO because it upholds the original mission of the national library to serve the public and as an archive of documents, which also includes digital files.

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You’ll be able to reach the Catherine Monastery in a 6-hour journey if you are coming from Cairo and would travel by road. It’s located on the lower slopes of Mount Sinai, which is really far from the civilized description of a city compared to other locations of libraries found on this list. Aside from the fact that this library is found in St. Catherine’s Monastery, being the second oldest library in the world, the monastery itself is already a relic, and you could not find any similar monastery that still exists today. You could find in this library some of the byzantine manuscripts, which are one of the most preserved and unique collections in this athenaeum. It also includes early codices, and other old manuscripts that’s why it was also known as the Syriac Sinaiticus.

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The last king that led the Neo-Assyrian Empire was Ashurbanipal who was known for his unparalleled strength and for having collections of cuneiform documents at his palace in Niniveh. This is popularly called as the Library of Ashurbanipal, and you could find it now at the British Museum. All of his collections of tablets and texts were properly kept from his library, which was discovered by Austen Henry Layard and other archaeologists of British Museum that contains 30,000 cuneiform tablets along with other fragments. Through collective efforts, in 2002 The Ashurbanipal Library Project was made through the help of the University of Mosul in Iraq.