Origin: Latin suffix -ary
Library has 6 different meanings across 1 category:
a collection of literary documents or records kept for reference or borrowing
"After finishing her research, she carefully returned the rare manuscript to its proper place in the library before leaving."
a depository built to contain books and other materials for reading and study
"After spending hours in the library researching my history project, I finally found all the primary sources I needed."
(computing) a collection of standard programs and subroutines that are stored and available for immediate use
"The developer spent hours debugging an error in the graphics library before finally finding the correct function call."
a building that houses a collection of books and other materials
"After finishing her research, she walked back to the library to return the borrowed novels before closing time."
An institution which holds books and/or other forms of media for use by the public or qualified people often lending them out, as well as providing various other services for its users.
"She walked into the library to return her overdue novel before heading home."
In plain English: A library is a place where you can borrow books and other materials for free.
"I spent the whole afternoon in the library reading a fascinating book about history."
Usage: Use "library" to refer to a public building where you can borrow books and access media, rather than using it as a synonym for a reference collection within an office. It specifically denotes the institution itself that provides lending services to the community.
The word library comes from the Latin liber, which originally meant "the inner bark of trees" before evolving to mean paper or a book. This term entered Middle English through French and replaced an earlier native word that literally translated to "book house."