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Libraries Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
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Libraries Trivia

Libraries Trivia Quizzes

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8 Libraries quizzes and 80 Libraries trivia questions.
1.
  It's in the Title   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Join me on a tour of some of the world's most beautiful and historic libraries.
Average, 10 Qns, kaddarsgirl, Sep 09 13
Average
kaddarsgirl gold member
2440 plays
2.
  Libraries and Librarians   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Here are a few questions about some of the more notable libraries and librarians in history, presented with concurrent events.
Average, 10 Qns, christopherm, Jan 03 09
Average
christopherm gold member
599 plays
3.
  Treasures of the British Library II   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A trip to the British Library is such a pleasure for any lover of world literature, religion, music and culture. This will be my second virtual return trip to the library as I recall ten more of its wonderful treasures!
Tough, 10 Qns, thejazzkickazz, Mar 03 20
Tough
thejazzkickazz gold member
Mar 03 20
675 plays
4.
  Bookworms, Unite! Return to Library Land    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Sure, a lot of books are found on various electronic devices, but there is still a lot of fun to be found in your modern library!
Tough, 10 Qns, lompocjoe, Apr 13 22
Tough
lompocjoe
Apr 13 22
465 plays
5.
  The Bodleian Library   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
One of the most famous libraries in the world, how much do you know about the Bodleian Library in England?
Average, 10 Qns, Rowena8482, Jul 26 19
Average
Rowena8482
Jul 26 19
265 plays
6.
  Treasures of the British Library    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
If you haven't visited the British Library to see some of the magnificent literary treasures it contains, here's a little taste to tide you over until your opportunity arrives...good luck and enjoy.
Difficult, 10 Qns, thejazzkickazz, Feb 23 15
Difficult
thejazzkickazz gold member
537 plays
7.
  The New York Public Library    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The New York Public Library is a wonderful repository of many and varied works of art. Welcome to the brilliant world of the NYPL!
Tough, 10 Qns, Jinxgirl, Mar 31 23
Tough
Jinxgirl
Mar 31 23
227 plays
8.
  More of the O-Pun Library    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Again it is time to help Charles and his quest for some very unusual books assigned by his teachers. Especially since they all are punning variants of book titles.
Average, 10 Qns, collect, Aug 26 21
Average
collect
Aug 26 21
627 plays

Libraries Trivia Questions
1. In which English university city is the Bodleian Library located?

From Quiz The Bodleian Library

Answer: Oxford

The Bodleian Library forms a major part of the Oxford University Library Service. Various specialist libraries, together with the main Bodleian on Broad Street, are collectively referred to as The Bodleian Libraries.

2. Criticism of 'pulp fiction' (books, not the movie) has been around for a long time. See if you can complete this disdainful comment made in the seventeenth century: "Some books, like the City of London, fare the better for being ________".

From Quiz Bookworms, Unite! Return to Library Land

Answer: Burned

English satirist Tom Brown (1662-1704) always bemoaned the fact that his books were overlooked by the British public and felt that there were too many works being published solely for entertainment. Brown was often vicious and a bit smutty when penning his critiques of everyday society and was called "coarse and scurrilous" in the 1911 Encylopedia Britannica. His snotty reference to the City of London fire refers to the disasterous blaze of 1666.

3. In the seventh century BC the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built. Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, became the largest city in the world. What is the name of the magnificent library established in Nineveh during this period?

From Quiz Libraries and Librarians

Answer: Royal Library of Ashurbanipal

The collection of tablets comprised many great works. It held materials from a broad spectrum of types literature, including the "Epic of Gilgamesh." Virtually anything that could be recorded was collected and preserved by King Ashurbanipal who was very well educated.

4. Social Studies time -- and the teacher tells Charles to find a book on moccasin making by American Indians. Do you think you can pick it out?

From Quiz More of the O-Pun Library

Answer: The Last of the Mohicans

A last is a device used in making shoes, and moccasins are a type of shoe worn by American Indians, and many other people!

5. What is the name of the gallery that contains the most treasured works of literature in the British Library?

From Quiz Treasures of the British Library

Answer: John Ritblat Gallery

Also called the 'Treasures of the British Library', this gallery was named after one of the chief donors to the British Library when it was being constructed. If you are interested in seeing a couple hundred of the rarest and most valuable literary works in the world, I highly recommend a visit to this gallery while in London!

6. NYPL contains many special areas. Astor Hall is one of largest and most wonderful interior expanses in New York. What is its primary purpose?

From Quiz The New York Public Library

Answer: A marble entrance that offers a stunning space for parties

Astor Hall, named after one of the original founders of the library, is a beautiful venue in which to host a party, wedding reception or cocktail afternoon for your 300 closest friends. Let's see...I can ask my three neighbors (not the one with that barky dog), the paper boy, my strange cousin and his weird kids....

7. This library is believed to have been established in the early part of the third century BC. The Colossus of Rhodes was built. The Ptolemies led Egypt during this time. What is the name of the library?

From Quiz Libraries and Librarians

Answer: Library of Alexandria

Also known as the Royal Library of Alexandria, this library was the largest of its kind in the world at the time. There are varying accounts describing its destruction. Carl Sagan said this about the library of Alexandria, "History is full of people who out of fear, or ignorance, or lust for power have destroyed knowledge of immeasurable value, which truly belongs to us all. We must not let it happen again."

8. Charles is taking Economics this year. His teacher is a bit confused, since he thinks Jane Austen wrote a textbook! Can you find the book Charles needs?

From Quiz More of the O-Pun Library

Answer: Cents and Sensibility

One of Jane Austen's most famous novels is "Sense and Sensibility."

9. Undoubtedly one of the most priceless works of literature in the British Library is one of the original copies of the Bible created by which pioneer of the printing press?

From Quiz Treasures of the British Library

Answer: Gutenberg & Johann Gutenberg

Gutenberg was born Henne Gänsfleisch zur Laden, but everyone knows him by his former name. The Gutenberg Bible contained within the Ritblat Gallery is one of a few still intact throughout the world.

10. In 1944, an executive of a large tobacco company bequeathed his personal library to the NYPL. Each book and artifact in this extensive collection relates to his occupation. Which childhood book is included in the "Tobacco Collection"?

From Quiz The New York Public Library

Answer: Alice in Wonderland

Charles Dodgson was a math tutor at Christ Church College in Oxford. He met a young neighbor named Alice and wrote fantasy stories for her. His pen name was Lewis Carroll. A rich tobacco executive connected his passion of smoking to Carroll's fictional character, the Caterpillar (who sat on a mushroom smoking a hooka) and donated an original edition of "Alice in Wonderland".

11. The world's largest public lending library is located in what city?

From Quiz Bookworms, Unite! Return to Library Land

Answer: London

Created by Thomas Carlyle in 1841, the million-plus books in the London Library are available to anyone willing to part with a small 'subscription' fee. In 2012, the adult fee was £445, there were no overdue fines, and patrons just might check out a book that had been handled by Charles Dickins or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

12. Constantius II, son of Constantine the Great, provided much of the impetus in the continuation of this library, along with a large staff of scribes and librarians. Which ancient library was it?

From Quiz Libraries and Librarians

Answer: Library of Constantinople

In one of the earliest examples of library collection preservation, Constantine the Great initiated the conversion of materials recorded on papyrus to the sturdier and more durable parchment. Nevertheless, fire destroyed the bulk of the collection.

13. English class -- but the teacher wants Charles to get a French novel by Verne about a sinking ship. Can you help find it?

From Quiz More of the O-Pun Library

Answer: 20,000 Leaks Under the Sea

Jules Verne, the French novelist, wrote "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" about a submarine and its captain, Nemo. A submarine with leaks would surely sink even faster!

14. The greatest masterpiece of early Anglo-Saxon book production, the 'Lindisfarne Gospels', can also be found in the British Library. In which county of England was the Monastery of Lindisfarne to be found?

From Quiz Treasures of the British Library II

Answer: Northumberland

The 'Lindisfarne Gospels' were printed by hand 'For God and For St. Cuthbert' (a bishop of the monastery) c. 698 AD. Lindisfarne was located on Holy Island, a tidal island off the coast of Northumberland, the northernmost English county. The writing was probably made by Eadfrith who took over as Archbishop following Cuthbert's death, and the work bound by Aethelwald, Eadfrith's eventual replacement.

15. As if the first printed Bible isn't enough, the British Library also contains a copy of the second major printed work, created by Peter Schäffer. What work did Schäffer print?

From Quiz Treasures of the British Library

Answer: Psalterium

The "Psalterium" is also known as the "Book of Psalms". The Schäffer Psalterium is also interesting in that it employed multi-colored printing for the first time, red and black!

16. The NYPL's Berg Collection contains one of only thirteen existing copies of Edgar Allan Poe's first published poem (1827). What is the title?

From Quiz The New York Public Library

Answer: Tamerlane

"Tamerlane" is a strange poem. "I do believe that Eblis hath a snare in every human path, Else how in the holy grove, I wandered in the idol, Love, who daily scents his snowy wings with incense of burnt offerings, From the most unpolluted things". The three other choices are also Poe's creations. He is known for his love of the macabre.

17. During the 1430s, the Bodleian Library underwent a great expansion, with the addition of an important collection of books and manuscripts. Who was the wealthy donor of this new material?

From Quiz The Bodleian Library

Answer: Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester

Humphrey was the younger son of King Henry IV of England, and the brother of King Henry V. To this day, the oldest reading room at the Bodleian is known as "Duke Humfrey's Library" in his honour. Sadly, by the end of the sixteenth century, after the Reformation, only three of Duke Humfrey's original donated manuscripts remained in the Library.

18. It was during this decade that Johannes Gutenberg revolutionized printing in Europe, with his invention of printing by movable type. Pope Nicholas V began acquiring materials for this library in 1448. What is the name of this library?

From Quiz Libraries and Librarians

Answer: Vatican Library

The Vatican Library's first librarian created a catalog of the library's holdings in 1481. The library was formally established in 1475 under the name of, "Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana." The fifteenth century was known as the "Age of Discovery."

19. Charles loves his History teacher -- but she likes old Disney comic books too much. When she assigned a book on a Spanish-American War hero she mistakenly told Charles to get this book.

From Quiz More of the O-Pun Library

Answer: The Life of Admiral Huey, Dewey and Louie

Admiral George Dewey was the "Hero of Manila" for his defeat of the Spanish fleet during the Spanish-American War of 1898.

20. Which individual was partner in the production of both the first printed Bible and of Schäffer's printed work?

From Quiz Treasures of the British Library

Answer: Fust

Johann Fust of Mainz, Germany was the financial powerhouse behind Gutenberg's printing press. Unfortunately, the partnership dissolved after several years when Gutenberg failed to return Fust's investment, and Fust gained control of Gutenberg's printing apparatus. Schäffer was Fust's son-in-law, and helped continue the printing legacy begun by Gutenberg with his "Psalterium".

21. The NYPL was a complete success from the day it first opened its doors to the public. Lines formed as many people wished to experience the initial opening. What was the topic of the first book requested by the first reader on opening day?

From Quiz The New York Public Library

Answer: A Russian language study of Tolstoy

In the spirit of America, a young Russian emigrant was first in the door at the opening of the New York Public Library. After he was issued his library card, he checked out a Russian language book describing the theories of Tolstoy. Aren't we a great country?

22. Founded on April 24th, 1800, this library is listed by "The Guinness Book of World Records," as the "World's Largest Library." In which country is this library?

From Quiz Libraries and Librarians

Answer: United States

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, in terms of space and volume. It is the primary source of research requests by the United States Congress. The Library of Congress hosts a website as well as an online catalog of its holdings.

23. Ouch! Charles' English teacher has been reading too much about Welsh poet Dylan Thomas when she asked Charles to get Beatrix Potter's most famous book. Can you find it?

From Quiz More of the O-Pun Library

Answer: Tales of Peter Rarebit

"Tales of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter is fairly famous -- and Welsh Rarebit is a standard of British cuisine.

24. The oldest example of Japanese print can be found in the British Library, a copy of the "One Million Pagoda Charms". What was the name of the Japanese Empress who ordered the printing of this work?

From Quiz Treasures of the British Library

Answer: Shotoku

Empress Shotoku (Koken) had one million (probably an exaggeration) copies of these "Charms" (Dharani - Buddhist prayers) printed beginning in 764 A.D. They were placed in small, wooden pagodas (hence the name) and distributed throughout Japan.

25. The NYPL has many odd collections donated by rich families of New York. The library contains many items called "Elephant Folios". What are they?

From Quiz The New York Public Library

Answer: Large books

The NYPL contains many "Elephant Folios", which is a term given to unusually large volumes, usually greater than two feet tall.

26. The Bodleian Library was officially opened under that name in the year 1602, after Mr. Bodley took an interest in it and assisted the University with its revival after a period of decline. What was Mr. Bodley's first name?

From Quiz The Bodleian Library

Answer: Thomas

Thomas Bodley was a student at Oxford in his youth, and was also a lecturer there, in Ancient Greek, later on. His wife was an heiress, and after their marriage he gave up his collegiate Fellowship and devoted the rest of his life to the restoration of the Library.

27. Charles' French teacher wants him to read a book by Dumas about four friends -- but she had a hair-raising experience at the salon this morning, so she may not have gotten the title quite right. What book is Charles to get?

From Quiz More of the O-Pun Library

Answer: The Three Mousseketeers

I hope the "four friends" made sure you chose "The Three Mousseketeers" -- unless you relied on the "hair-raising" properties of "mousse!" Dumas' classic tale of Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan and the intrigues of the French court has been filmed many times now.

28. Another astounding piece of literature, this time the earliest dated printed work, what is the name of this Buddhist scripture to be found in the British Library?

From Quiz Treasures of the British Library

Answer: Diamond Sutra

Though block printing existed prior to 868 A.D. when this copy of the Diamond Sutra was created, this is the earliest officially dated printing discovery. This copy of the Diamond Sutra was discovered in one of the "Caves of the Thousand Buddhas" (Mogao Caves, near Dunhuang, China) by the famed Hungarian explorer Aurel Stein, who spent the first couple decades of the 20th century combing China for works of antiquity. You can read about Stein's (and other explorers) adventures in China in Peter Hopkirk's "Foreign Devils on the Silk Road".

29. NYPL is home to a renowned Conservation Laboratory. Its mission is the repair and preservation of myriad historical maps, parchments, letters, books and prints. What is the most common problem these wonderful preservationists face?

From Quiz The New York Public Library

Answer: Foxing

Foxing involves mildew. It occurs when ferrous oxide (F Ox in chemistry) is attracted to paper and is activated by humidity. (Get it...Foxing!) Tidemarks are water stains. Post-it-notes are a huge problem. The translucent adhesive is often stronger than the ancient paper researchers examine. On behalf of all librarians, please do not use these EVIL STICKY NOTES. (Thank you very much.)

30. By what name is the entrance to the "Old Library" of the Bodleian Library now known?

From Quiz The Bodleian Library

Answer: Tower of the Five Orders

The "Old Library" or "Old Schools Quadrangle" was built in the second decade of the seventeenth century. The Tower of the Five Orders is thus named because it has colums in the five classic architechtural styles, one on each floor, as it rises.

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