The Biblioteca Palafoxiana in Puebla, Mexico, is the oldest public library in the Americas, as well as one of the most beautiful. In 1981, the Mexican government declared it a historic monument and in 2005, UNESCO added it to the Memory of the World list. A digital catalog of the library's collection was released in 2010.

The former Colegio de San Juan is now home to Puebla's Casa de la Cultura cultural center, but the Biblioteca Palafoxiana remains in its original location on the second...

The library is open Tuesday to Thursday from 10 am to 5 pm/Friday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, the cost is $42 pesos, $21 pesos for children under 12 years old, students, teachers and INAPAM with ID and people with disabilities, Sunday and Tuesday is free admission.

Palafox y Mendoza donated his personal library, consisting of five thousand volumes.

In 1981, it was named a Historic Monument of Mexico for its beautifully decorated precinct, an emblem of the novo-Hispanic baroque style;...

The Palafoxiana Library was founded in 1646 with the donation of 5,000 volumes, made by Bishop Juan de Palafox and Mendoza to the Tridentine Colleges. This was the first public library in America. In 1773, Bishop Francisco Fabián y Fuero ordered the construction of the first two levels of cedar shelving. In 1981 the Library ceased to be public and became a museum, although to date it continues to serve researchers from all over the world. In 2005, the Palafoxiana Library was registered by...