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The creation and opening of the library of the Royal University of Mexico, in 1761 and 1778 respectively, mark a key moment in the history of libraries in New Spain. It was a “public” library that offered thousands of books to its users and grew steadily until the closure of the National and Pontifical University in 1857. This book explores, for the first time and in depth, the creation, history, inventories, and physical space of the library, as well as offering an analysis of the general characteristics of the university collection and an overview of the bibliographic diaspora of some of its volumes.

The reader will find here the transcripts of the minutes of the University's plenary and finance council meetings concerning the library, as well as a catalog of the books bearing the Royal University's fire mark, now housed in the National Library of Mexico. They will also find previously unpublished information about this collection, such as handwritten annotations in the books, their physical characteristics, and details of their provenance.