Calendar
What has closed, reopened, burned, fallen and been rebuilt, on one timeline. Each entry links to its library page and carries its source. Data as of 2026-11-11.
Closed now and closing soon
Sistine Hall, Vatican Library, closed now, since 1943: The library closes for about a year during the Second World War.
Library of Parliament, closed now, since 2019: Closed for Centre Block rehabilitation
Stockholm Public Library, closed now, since 2024: Closed for renovation, reopening early 2028
Mafra Palace library, closed now, since 2025: Library closed for conservation works from 20 Aug 2025
McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, closed now, since 2026: Closed to the public for restoration, June 2026
Long Room, Trinity College, closing in 2027: Old Library and Long Room close to public for restoration (Kells moves late 2027); works expected done 2030
Timeline
612 BCLibrary of Ashurbanipal, destroyed, 612 BC: Nineveh sacked; tablets burned (and thereby baked and preserved)
48 BCLibrary of Alexandria, damaged, 48 BC: Caesar's Alexandrian War fire. Extent disputed; Plutarch says fire destroyed "the great library", Gellius says books burned accidentally
48 BCLibrary of Alexandria, damaged, 48 BC: Gellius: books burned in the war with Alexandria, accidentally, by auxiliaries
48 BCLibrary of Alexandria, destroyed, 48 BC: Destruction dated variously: Caesar 48 BCE (most popular claim), Aurelian 272 CE, Diocletian 297, 391/415 or the 7th century
32 BCLibrary of Pergamon, lost, 32 BC: Plutarch: Antony accused of giving Cleopatra the libraries of Pergamum (200,000 volumes); an accusation, not confirmed fact
79Villa of the Papyri, sealed, 79: Vesuvius eruption buries villa and library under ~20 m of ash
262Library of Pergamon, destroyed, 262: Earthquake then Goths; library "did not survive"
262Library of Celsus, destroyed, 262: Interior burned (earthquake or Gothic attack); facade survived
272Library of Alexandria, destroyed, 272: Aurelian's recapture damages the Brucheion quarter; library destroyed only "if it still existed"
391Library of Alexandria, destroyed, 391: Serapeum (daughter library) demolished under Theophilus; whether it held books then is uncertain
1000Library of Celsus, damaged, 1000: Facade collapsed in an earthquake, 10th or 11th century
1006Library Cave (Cave 17), sealed, 1006: Cave 17 walled up early 11th century; reason debated (Stein: waste repository; Khotan fell to Karakhanids 1006; fear of 'Age of Decline')
1055Hereford Cathedral Chained Library, damaged, 1055: 1055 fire: the Hereford Gospels the only book to survive
1059House of Wisdom, destroyed, 1059: The Seljuks burnt the House of Knowledge in Baghdad, with holdings put at 10,000 volumes.
1200Nalanda, destroyed, 1200: Attacked/burned by Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji c. 1200; site kept operating for decades or centuries after; abandoned c. 1400
1232Haeinsa, destroyed, 1232: Mongol invaders burned the first set of Tripitaka printing blocks in 1232.
1258House of Wisdom, destroyed, 1258: Said to be destroyed in the Mongol siege of Baghdad
1260House of Wisdom, reopened, 1260: Large libraries in Baghdad reopened within two years of the siege
1297Melk Abbey library, damaged, 1297: A terrible fire hits the abbey; the annals and the Melk Song of the Virgin Mary survive.
1424Labrouste Reading Room, BnF, lost, 1424: Collection transferred to England
1457Haeinsa, rebuilt, 1457: Sejo expanded and renovated the storage hall, 1457
1490Haeinsa, rebuilt, 1490: Building completed 1490 (New World Encyclopedia)
1513Bibliotheca Corviniana, damaged, 1513: Viennese humanists (Gremper, Cuspinianus, Brassicanus) transfer codices from Buda to Vienna
1526Bibliotheca Corviniana, lost, 1526: Books taken to Istanbul after Mohacs (1526); some saved earlier by Viennese humanists
1550Duke Humfrey's Library, Bodleian, lost, 1550: Duke Humfrey's Library is emptied of its books on the order of the Dean of Christ Church, and some are burnt.
1624Sainte-Geneviève Library, reopened, 1624: Library re-instituted by Cardinal de La Rochefoucauld
1671El Escorial library, damaged, 1671: Fire on 7 June ravages much of the building and destroys over 5,000 codices.
1738Melk Abbey library, damaged, 1738: A fire destroys parts of the monastery and the church towers during the Baroque rebuilding.
1797Biblioteca Malatestiana, closed, 1797: Building requisitioned as a barracks
1798Sistine Hall, Vatican Library, lost, 1798: French occupation of Rome strips the library of nearly all its numismatic collection.
1807Biblioteca Malatestiana, reopened, 1807: Library restored to its original state
1814Library of Congress Main Reading Room, destroyed, 1814: The British burned Washington and destroyed the small congressional library in the Capitol.
1817Haeinsa, destroyed, 1817: Temple burned in a fire (English Wikipedia); the storage halls were spared
1818Haeinsa, rebuilt, 1818: Temple rebuilt, 1818
1841Tian Yi Ge, damaged, 1841: British occupiers looted geographical works after the fall of Ningbo, 1841
1861Tian Yi Ge, damaged, 1861: Thieves sold books after the Taiping took Ningbo, 1861
1865Admont Abbey library, damaged, 1865: A fire destroys large parts of the abbey but spares the library.
1872Ashikaga Gakkō, closed, 1872: The Ashikaga School was abolished in 1872.
1904Library Cave (Cave 17), closed, 1904: Wang re-seals cave on governor's order
1907Library Cave (Cave 17), lost, 1907: Dispersed: Stein 1907, Pelliot 1908, Otani 1911, Oldenburg 1914
1914Tian Yi Ge, damaged, 1914: Burglar Xue Jiwei stole books, 1914
1916Library of Parliament, damaged, 1916: Fire destroys the Centre Block; Library only part left standing
1916Library of Parliament, damaged, 1916: A fire started in the House of Commons reading room in 1916.
1933Tian Yi Ge, damaged, 1933: Typhoon damaged the pavilion, 18 September 1933
1939Admont Abbey library, closed, 1939: The Nazi regime confiscates the abbey's assets and the monks are forced to leave.
1943Sistine Hall, Vatican Library, closed, 1943: The library closes for about a year during the Second World War.
1945Admont Abbey library, reopened, 1945: The monks are allowed to return to the abbey on 17 October.
1946Tian Yi Ge, reopened, 1946: Evacuated books returned to the pavilion, 16 December 1946
1952Library of Parliament, damaged, 1952: Fire in dome; closed ~4 years, restored 1952-56
1956Library of Parliament, rebuilt, 1956: Significant restoration
1970Library of Celsus, rebuilt, 1970: Facade re-erected (anastylosis) led by Volker Michael Strocka
1978Library of Celsus, rebuilt, 1978: Façade reconstructed (anastylosis) by the Austrian Archaeological Institute, 1970-1978
1990Ashikaga Gakkō, reopened, 1990: The Ashikaga School was restored in December 1990.
1999Biblioteca Palafoxiana, damaged, 1999: Two earthquakes damage building and shelves
1999State Library Victoria, closed, 1999: Domed Reading Room closed for refurbishing
2003State Library Victoria, reopened, 2003: Domed Reading Room reopened as La Trobe Reading Room, 8 July 2003
2004Rococo Hall, Anna Amalia Library, damaged, 2004: Fire of 2 September 2004; 50,000 books burned, 118,000 damaged
2004Connemara Public Library, rebuilt, 2004: Old reading room restored, 2004-7
2004George Peabody Library, rebuilt, 2004: Renovation and refurbishment, $1 million
2005Biblioteca Palafoxiana, reopened, 2005: Doors reopened in April 2005 after restoration
2006The Morgan Library, McKim Building, reopened, 2006: Library reopened after expansion (29 April)
2006Library of Parliament, reopened, 2006: Tours resume after major renovation (5 June 2006)
2007Rococo Hall, Anna Amalia Library, reopened, 2007: Historic building reopened 24 Oct 2007 after full renovation
2007Vasconcelos Library, closed, 2007: Closed in March 2007 over construction defects
2008Vasconcelos Library, reopened, 2008: Reopened to the public in November 2008 after 22 months
2013Timbuktu manuscripts, damaged, 2013: Manuscripts burned or stolen 2012-2013 (4,203 at Ahmed Baba Institute); attributed to Ansar Dine/jihadists, rest evacuated to Bamako
2016Labrouste Reading Room, BnF, closed, 2016: Richelieu site closed for works (September)
2019Library of Parliament, closed, 2019: Closed for Centre Block rehabilitation
2022Labrouste Reading Room, BnF, reopened, 2022: Richelieu site reopened (Sept 2022)
2023David Sassoon Library, reopened, 2023: Reopened after a 16-month restoration (3 June 2023)
2024Stockholm Public Library, closed, 2024: Closed for renovation, reopening early 2028
2025Timbuktu manuscripts, reopened, 2025: Evacuated manuscripts begin returning from Bamako (Aug 2025)
2025Mafra Palace library, closed, 2025: Library closed for conservation works from 20 Aug 2025
2026McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, closed, 2026: Closed to the public for restoration, June 2026
2027Long Room, Trinity College, closed, 2027: Old Library and Long Room close to public for restoration (Kells moves late 2027); works expected done 2030