| Abstract from DBPedia | A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a virtual space, or both. A library's collection can include printed materials and other physical resources in many formats such as DVD, CD and cassette as well as access to information, music or other content held on bibliographic databases. A library, which may vary widely in size, may be organized for use and maintained by a public body such as a government; an institution such as a school or museum; a corporation; or a private individual. In addition to providing materials, libraries also provide the services of librarians who are trained and experts at finding, selecting, circulating and organizing information and at interpreting information needs, navigating and analyzing very large amounts of information with a variety of resources. Library buildings often provide quiet areas for studying, as well as common areas for group study and collaboration, and may provide public facilities for access to their electronic resources; for instance: computers and access to the Internet. The library's clientele and services offered vary depending on its type: users of a public library have different needs from those of a special library or academic library, for example. Libraries may also be community hubs, where programs are delivered and people engage in lifelong learning. Modern libraries extend their services beyond the physical walls of a building by providing material accessible by electronic means, including from home via the Internet. The services the library offers are variously described as library services, information services, or the combination "library and information services", although different institutions and sources define such terminology differently.図書館（としょかん、英: library、独: Bibliothek、仏: bibliothèque）とは、図書、雑誌、視聴覚資料、点字資料、録音資料等のメディアや情報資料を収集、保管し、利用者への提供等を行う施設もしくは機関である。 基礎的な蓄積型文化施設の一種であり、博物館が実物資料を中心に扱い、公文書館が非定型的文書資料を中心に扱うのに対して、図書館は 出版物を中心に比較的定型性の高い資料を蓄積するものである。 「図書館」は、明治中期に英語のlibraryから訳された訳語（和製漢語）である。「図書館」は、地図（図版）の「図」、書籍の「書」を取って、図書とし、図書を保存する建物という意味であった。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Library) |
