Founded in 1872, the Chicago Public Library serves over two-and-a-half million people, with an annual circulation of 8,305,158. Its book holdings total nearly six-and-a-half million volumes while its non-book holdings comprise some four-and-a-half million items. The library operates the central Harold Washington Library Center, 77 neighborhood branches, and two regional libraries. Special collections include the Chicago Theater Collection, the Chicago Blues Archives, an early American newspaper collection, and many others. Besides its public library, Chicago is also home to a number of university and government libraries, as well as private libraries run by historical and cultural societies, private corporations, medical facilities, and other groups. The main library of the University of Chicago, serving some 10,000 students and over 1,000 faculty members, maintains a collection of over six million books, more than 20,000 compact disks, and other materials. The university's libraries house special collections in modern poetry, anatomical illustration, English Bibles, and numerous other areas. The university's Newberry Library also houses a well-known research collection.
The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the country's premier art museums. It houses more than 300,000 artworks, cared for by ten curatorial departments. It has one of the world's great collections of Impressionist art, as well as outstanding collections of twentieth-century art and Japanese woodblock prints. Its print and drawing collections is also one of the nation's finest. With a collection of over 16 million items, the Field Museum of Natural History ranks