10 Most Exquisite Libraries in Mexico for Book Lovers
Did you know there are 7,413 public libraries in Mexico? That’s 93% of the total libraries in the Latin American country. The libraries in Mexico serve over 30 million people annually.
Each one of these Mexican libraries are more of sanctuaries for books and book lovers. Their uniqueness brings the feeling of escaping the real world as you devour countless pages and enter indescribable wonders and creations. All the noise stays behind for just a moment that might as well turn into hours.
In the following list, I have gathered the 10 most exquisite libraries that you can find in Mexico.
Let’s jump in and explore these amazing Mexican libraries!
PRO TIP! The right way to say library in Spanish is biblioteca. The word librería exists, but it means “stationery store.”
1. Juan José Arreola Library
- Location: Guadalajara, Jalisco
- Main exquisite feature: Its architectural design
The first library on our list owes its name to its former director, the writer Juan José Arreola. He was in charge of the library’s administration from 1991 to the date of his passing in 2001.
Out of all the libraries in Mexico, this Mexican library is public and holds around 400,000 historical documents, some of which are even 500 years, or half a millenium, old. It has the capacity to store an outstanding amount of 2 million pieces of literature.
This Library has a cafeteria, a bar, rooms to study as a group, an international center, an oral history shop, a braille reading shop, areas of indigenous literature, and literature for kids and adults. It has a capacity to serve up to 3,600 people simultaneously.
This library, established in 1861, opened a new branch in October 2012. Architect Federico González Martínez’ design is of great beauty as it lets you see the inside and outside of the building through perpendicular windows placed diagonally.
It’s still unclear if you can check out any books at this library. However, the director mentioned in a 2020 interview that the service would be ready by mid 2020.
You only need a valid ID to access the library if you wish to read there.
2. Palafoxiana Library
- Location: Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla
- Main exquisite feature: Its carved cedar bookcases
This is one of the most amazing libraries in Mexico. Founded in 1646, the first public library of the Americas, La Biblioteca Palafoxiana started off with 5,000 books. It owes its peculiar name to the bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, who donated the books. Now it holds around 45,000 books, the oldest of which is a copy of Saint Agustine’s “City of God” from 1475.
This library is not public anymore. In 1981 it became a museum. The place is extremely beautiful, ancient, and highly unique. In 2005 UNESCO named it Memory of the World. If you want to visit it, the entrance fee is 2 USD (40 Mexican Pesos).
The library itself has carved cedar bookcases, a red tiled floor, and desks with embedded onyx. The building has been in the exact same place since it opened in 1646, so going inside the place is like traveling back in time—a truly beautiful jewel in the center of Puebla.
3. National Library of Mexico
- Location: Mexico City, Mexico
- Main exquisite feature: The fondo reservado room
You now know which one is the oldest library in Mexico (and the Americas). La biblioteca nacional de México is the biggest library in the country. This Mexican library holds more than 1,250,000 books, making it one of the biggest libraries in the Americas.
While this library was created in 1867, it could have been older since Valentín Gómez Farías, Mexico’s vice president at the time, ordered a decree to create it in 1833. In 1914, the library became part of La Universidad Nacional de México (UNAM), and it has never stopped being part of it since.
Around 40,000 people visit this library annually, and 1 million do it in a virtual modality. The library occupied a Catholic temple for over a century and it moved to a new building in 1979, which has four floors. Mexican artists built some statues to decorate the inside of the place. Inside it there is the fondo reservado room, exquisitely decorated in wood with glass panels which covers many books, and perfect illumination.
You cannot check out books, but if you may consult anything inside the library. You need to be over 16 years old, present a valid ID with a photograph and follow the rules and regulations.
4. Miguel Lerdo de Tejada Library
- Location: Mexico City, Mexico
- Main exquisite feature: Vlady’s Murals
This Mexican library is also public, and it also looks like a museum. It is decorated with Vlady’s murals. Vladimir Viktorovich aka “Vlady” painted over 2,000 square meters of murals in a psychedelic style in the 70s.
This iconic mural expresses many many revolutions, including Lenin’s revolution, the USA’s revolution and many Latin American revolutions as well. The name of the mural is La Revolución y los Elementos (The Revolution and the Elements), and it surrounds the library.
Besides the impressive mural, the library keeps 86,350 titles and 114,852 volumes. This Mexican library specializes in economical topics. You can visit it freely from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
5. UNAM Central Library
- Location: Mexico City, Mexico
- Main exquisite feature:The Mural of the Historical Representation of Culture
The original plan to build the National Library took off in 1943, but the library did not open its doors until 1956.
UNESCO declared UNAM’s library (and campus) as World Heritage in 2007, so it’s definitely a place worth visiting. A library with 172,222 square feet (16,000 square meters).
While it’s not the official Mexican National Library, UNAM’s Central Library contains even more volumes than the National Library—1,445,109 to be exact! All divided into ten floors!
In order to rent books you must be a student, professor or part of UNAM’s staff. But the library is open to the public every day from 8:30 a.m. till 9:30 p.m.
The most impressive part of this Mexican library is not only its astonishing amount of volumes but also the four outside walls decorating it. Juan O’Gorman, a Mexican architect, designed El mural de la representación histórica de la cultura (The Mural of the Historical Representation of Culture)—one of the biggest mosaics in the world. Each one of the walls portrays a different topic.
The northern wall is the prehispanic past (el pasado prehispánico) and depicts Aztec gods such as Quetzalcoalt and Tláloc.
The Southern wall represents the colonial past (el pasado colonial). Logically the Southern wall depicts the opposite message of the Northern one, the Spanish domination and the defeat of the Mexica empire.
The Eastern wall, the contemporary world (el mundo contemporáneo), depicts the reality of an urban and rural Mexico taking into account the Mexican revolution, and the Mexican society up until the 1950s.
The Western wall represents the university and modern Mexico (La universidad y el México actual). O’Gorman decided to depict how UNAM and the Mexican culture should be.
6. Conarte Library
- Location: Monterrey, Nuevo León
- Main exquisite feature: Its unique “hive-like” design
Out of all the libraries in Mexico, this one in Monterrey is not as big as the other ones that I have previously mentioned. You cannot compare UNAM’s or Mexico’s National libraries with its million books.
However, Conarte is impressive in a different way. Have you ever been reading a book so quietly you felt you were somewhere out of space? Biblioteca Conarte in Monterrey is that exact place! In 2016, WIRED magazine featured this Mexican library as one of the 10 most beautiful libraries in the world. This library is a great example of what modern architecture can develop, because it uses its space cleverly and it makes you feel cozy and comfortable in an amazing little space in order for you to read in peace.
7. Benjamin Franklin Library
- Location: Mexico City, Mexico
- Main exquisite feature: The representation of friendship between Mexico and the U.S.A.
Benjamin Franklin sounds familiar, doesn’t he? This public library was founded in 1942 and it was a sign of friendship between the American and Mexican governments. The contents that the library holds are courtesy of the American government.
This library was distinguished among all libraries in Mexico because Mexican icon Frida Khalo participated in an exposition at La Franklin (how locals call it) in the 1940s.
The Mexican library has more than 19,000 different titles, many of which talk about the United States, Mexico, or both. It offers English lessons with puzzles, virtual universes in 3D, and even videogames!
If you wish to have access to your library card, you must be 18 years old or older, fill out and sign the application form and bring an official ID, proof of address and a photocopy of the consignee’s ID to the library.
8. Monterrey Central Library
- Location: Monterrey, Nuevo León
- Main exquisite feature: Its geometrical architecture and the lake in front of it
La biblioteca central de Monterrey opened in 1994, and it has a capacity for 50,000 volumes. This Mexican library has a simple, but impressive design. It’s covered in brick and it uses a cube, a cylinder and two triangles which interrupt them, descending into the lake in front, giving the impression that the building comes right out of it.
The spherical area is reserved for the reading areas, which let you see to the outside of the library, and the books themselves are stored in the cube which is inside. The red brick, combined with the palm trees in the garden outside, and the blue lake from where they come from, make the structure quite a piece to look at! The library appeared in the Hungarian magazine Octogon in 2002.
9. Andrés Henestrosa Library
- Location: Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca
- Most exquisite feature: The casona architecture
La biblioteca Andrés Henestrosa is a public Mexican library in Oaxaca. They founded it in 2003 after Andrés Henestrosa donated his collection of 40,000 books. Over time, the collection has expanded with 20,000 new books making a grand total of 60,000 books which focus on many humanistic topics.
This library offers a free entry for everyone, and it’s open from Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Mexican library offers literature shops, book presentations, expositions, concerts and more.
Its coolest feature is its style of casona. It has a big patio in the middle of it and columns with rooms around them in which you can enter and browse books freely. The books are in three different rooms and they vary from topic to topic talking about history, poetry and literature. It has two reading rooms to enjoy any material you can find there.
10. Vasconcelos Library
- Location: Mexico City, Mexico
- Most Exquisite Feature: La Mátrix Móvil sculpture
La Biblioteca Vasconcelos is our newest Mexican library in the list. It owes its name to José Vasconcelos, a president of the National Mexican Library. Compared to the other libraries in Mexico, this one opened in 2006 and the Mexican government paid around 98,000,000 USD for the project.
It occupies 410,040 square feet (38,094 square meters) in which you can find the library, book shelves, a garden and even a greenhouse! The library has an “official” capacity of 575,000 books but thanks to the master minds who built it, this number can be dramatically increased to 2,000,000.
Inside its seven floors you can find a kid’s room, a multimedia room, a braille room, and even a music room! It’s emblematic feature is the Mátrix Móvil sculpture which resembles a big mammal’s skeleton, hanging from the roof, which makes you feel like you’re in a museum while you read.
The entry to the library is free and every single activity is free as well. But you’ll need a credential. In order to get one of these you’ll need to fill out the application form, provide your official ID and your proof of domicile.
Enjoy Reading in Spanish!
If you’re planning a visit to any of these astonishing libraries in Mexico and spending some time exploring their amazing structures, and the impressive amount of books or the stories hiding among their shelves, you’d better go prepared!
What ‘s better than reading Gabriel García Márquez, Miguel Ángel Asturias, Octavio Paz or Jorge Luis Borges in their own native language? Prepare to explore the works of these and many other renowned authors at any of these Mexican libraries while understanding them like a true native.
You can become proficient in communicating in Spanish today. Sign up for a free class with one of our friendly Guatemalan teachers who’ll lead you through the world of Spanish literature and will help you delve into the works of famous Latin American authors!
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