The Most Beautiful Libraries In Mexico City

UNAM’s Biblioteca Central is housed in an iconic building covered with eye catching, instantly recognizable Juan O’Gorman mosaics that recount the history of Mexico. As it’s a university library situated quite appropriately in UNAM’s Ciudad Universitaria, you can find a number of general interest and specialist texts that cover all of the main disciplines, including finance, music and literature. First opened in 1956, it now has over 600,000 documents, archives and books.

Located just behind the Ciudadela in Mexico City, the Biblioteca de México is the main public library in the city and was first inaugurated in 1946. With over 250,000 volumes, this vast edifice also plays host to five individual, personal libraries named after famed Mexican writers including Carlos Monsiváis and Antonio Castro Leal. Aside from the ‘standard’ book collection, the Biblioteca de México also houses a braille library for the visually impaired and hosts expositions and functions.

This modern library specializes in English language books, making it the perfect spot to drop by if you don’t speak Spanish or are learning English. Established in 1983, Anglo Library is the country’s largest English-language library and has a wide selection of titles for even the most avid reader to choose from. From their inauguration to the present day, they’ve given library cards to around 3,500 members. Why not be the 3501st?

Stunning from the outside and boasting a broad selection of titles (and murals) on the inside, including an impressive collection of 18th century newspapers and over 2,000 examples from the 19th century, the Biblioteca Miguel Lerdo de Tejada is housed in a true masterpiece of baroque architecture. Aside from being a must-visit for architecture and newspaper buffs, there’s also an added historical appeal to this library — it has the 1824 Constitución de la República in its collection.