library

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A place in which literary and artistic materials, such as books, periodicals, newspapers, pamphlets, prints, records, and tapes, are kept for reading, reference, or lending.
2. n. A collection of such materials, especially when systematically arranged.
3. n. A room in a private home for such a collection.
4. n. An institution or foundation maintaining such a collection.
5. n. A commercial establishment that lends books for a fee.
6. n. A series or set of books issued by a publisher.
7. n. A collection of recorded data or tapes arranged for ease of use.
8. n. A set of things similar to a library in appearance, function, or organization: a library of computer programs.
9. n. Genetics A collection of cloned DNA sequences whose location and identity can be established by mapping the genome of a particular organism.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A place set apart for the keeping and use of books and other literary material; a room, set of rooms, or a building in which a collection of books for reading or study is kept.
2. n. A collection of books, whether manuscript or printed, which may include also pamphlets, maps, and other literary material, intended for reading, study, or reference, as distinguished from a bookseller's stock, which is intended for sale. Libraries are of different kinds and classes according to the tastes of their owners, the readers for whom they are designed, their contents, and the manner in which they may be used, as private, public, special or professional, general, consulting or circulating, etc.
3. n. See the adjectives.
4. n. Specifically, a collection or stock of books kept exclusively for lending out, as a private enterprise, either for a fixed payment on each or for a periodical subscription.

Wiktionary

1. n. An institution which holds books and/or other forms of stored information for use by the public or qualified people. It is usual, but not a defining feature of a library, for it to be housed in rooms of a building, to lend items of its collection to members either with or without payment, and to provide various other services for its community of users.
2. n. A collection of books or other forms of stored information. An individual may refer to his collection of books and other items as his library.
3. n. An equivalent collection of analogous information in a non-printed form, e.g. record library
4. n. computer science A collection of software subprograms that provides functionality, to be incorporated into or used by a computer program.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A considerable collection of books kept for use, and not as merchandise
2. n. A building or apartment appropriated for holding such a collection of books.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a depository built to contain books and other materials for reading and study
2. n. a collection of literary documents or records kept for reference or borrowing
3. n. (computing) a collection of standard programs and subroutines that are stored and available for immediate use
4. n. a room where books are kept
5. n. a building that houses a collection of books and other materials