There is no single official number of books required for a collection to be considered a library. Different sources and opinions suggest various thresholds:
- Some people consider 500 or 1,000 books as a minimum to qualify as a library.
- The American Library Association (ALA) points to 5,000 books as a number that might make a collection or room "feel" like a library, but this is not a strict or universally accepted rule.
- Private or personal libraries can have as few as a few hundred books and still be considered libraries.
- The definition of a library can also depend on factors beyond the number of books, including organization, purpose, and whether it serves a community or specific mission.
In summary, the threshold is flexible, and a collection can be called a library by its owner regardless of exact size, though 500 to 1,000 books are common informal benchmarks.
