public library

noun

1. a nonprofit library established for the use of the general public and maintained chiefly by public funds.

Word History and Origins

Origin of public library¹

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

The Los Angeles Public Library Store’s website has no shortage of giftable items on offer that sport the library’s stylized open-book logo.

From Los Angeles Times

The tank’s distinctive squat and oval shape reflects its original purpose, which was to store substances that “will not remain in liquid form unless held under slight pressure or for light oils that vaporize readily,” wrote Nicholas Beyelia, a librarian for the Los Angeles Public library.

From Los Angeles Times

At the three-day film festival she founded in 2003, devoted crowds filled two sold-out Santa Ana theaters to catch the film, standing in long lines for Ai to autograph its companion book, “New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the Vietnamese Diaspora,” published by Angel City Press and the Los Angeles Public Library.

From Los Angeles Times

Together they savored “Corduroy,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Charlotte’s Web,” and they vanished into the stacks of the Arlington Public Library, quietly calling out “brother” and “sister” to find each other when it was time to leave.

From Los Angeles Times

The author is a librarian for the Fullerton Public Library system.

From Los Angeles Times