Tag:amenity=library
 amenity = library
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A place to read and/or borrow books. 
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| Group: amenities |
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A library is a collection of books and other media that can be read and/or borrowed.[1]
How to map
Draw an area along the outline of the library building. If the library is located inside a building with multiple uses, draw a node instead.Tag it with amenity=library and name=*.
Tags to use in combination
ref:isil=*- reference the International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organisations (ISIL). The related organizations are not what is commonly understood as libraries but refer to museums and archives centres also. This is a standard defined by the ISO, namely ISO15511. See ISIL on Wikipedia.wikidata=*- for the corresponding Wikidata entry, if availablewikipedia=*- for the corresponding Wikipedia article about the library, if availableaddr:*=*- for the physical address of the librarycontact:*=*website=*- for the official website of the library. If the only official site is a social media page such as Facebook, usecontact:facebook=*or the like.phone=*
opening_hours=*rental=*- to indicate the types of items that the library lends out from its collectionoperator=*- for the entity operating the library. If it is part of a larger library system, use this tag for the name of that system (e.g. "Hawaii State Public Library System")operator:type=*- for the type of organisation operating the library, e.g. "public", "university", "private", ...operator:wikidata=*- for the operator's Wikidata entry, if available
books=*to indicate if a certain flavour of books can be found there, e.g.books=children,books=cooking,books=anarchism, …alt_name=*- if the library has multiple names
Types of libraries
Lending Libraries
A lending library, sometimes referred to as a "public library" or "community library", allows users to borrow books and other media. Some institutional libraries may be lending libraries as well. These can be tagged with rental=book, along with other media types if available, e.g. rental=book;dvd;tool.
Reference Libraries
A reference library, sometimes referred to as a "reading room" or "special collection", only allows users to view media on-site, and does not lend out its collection. These can be tagged with rental=no.
Topic of the collection
The usual term for referring to the library content(s) is collection or collections.
While there are many generic libraries, there are also many libraries which focus on a specific topic (e.g. architecture, chemistry, law, French literature, archeology, ...). Currently there doesn't yet seem an established way to tag this.
In addition to singular topic libraries there are some general libraries that also have an additional concentration on one specific topic. In some areas the topics are scattered between the libraries so that an inter-library loan of specialist knowledge maybe provided by the libraries as a group using this additional concentration on specialist topics.
The collection(s) is (are) composed of items on various material, generally specified as books, periodicals, records (musical or video), posts, manuscripts, archives, artworks…).
Libraries embedded in a larger establishment
One can keep in mind that a library may be physically independent or may be not and for decades, the British National Library used to be one of the British Museum sections. There is no clear limit between a library and an information or documentation centre.
Suggestion: treat the embedded libraries as a particular service of the capping institution, except the public libraries which are subsidies of public corporations or nonprofit organizations or incorporated on their own.
Mapping indoor with "sub-icons" could be considered in the future.
Applications
Multiple buildings and branches
As with all functions (points of interest), you should distinguish the library (function/service) from the physical building(s) in which it is located, i.e. you should prefer distinct OSM objects for each.
- Libraries can consist of multiple buildings and may have several branches. In this case the same ISIL is used for all buildings and branches.
- If different names are commonly used for each location, then each building or branch should be mapped as separate feature. Branch libraries in different neighborhoods or towns should be mapped as separate features.
- If several buildings in one general area are considered one library with a single name, they may be mapped as an area with a closed way or a multipolygon relation.
- A building can host multiple libraries. In this case, each library can be mapped as a separate node within the building outline, or optionally each library can be mapped as a separate area, if each library is limited to part of the building.
See also
amenity=mobile_library- mobile libraries, library buses, bookmobiles.amenity=public_bookcase- a public bookcase. e.g., in old telephone booths.tourism=museum- a museum. Many museums have a library. Some museums can also be treated as a library with ISIL.amenity=archive- an archiveamenity=toy_libraryamenity=bicycle_library- for bike share programs also called "library"shop=books- a bookstore or antiquarian bookshopshop=newsagent- a shop primarily selling newspapers, and magazinesamenity=library_dropoff- a remote dropoff location for a library