Ashurbanipal Library

The Ashurbanipal Library is home to the largest and most extensive collection of Assyrian texts in the world. Our collection includes publications in Assyrian, English, Arabic, as well as other world languages.

Named in honor of the legendary Assyrian King Ashurbanipal, the library was founded in the 1980s by a group of Assyrian students in Chicago who wanted to collect as many important Assyrian texts as possible to ensure their preservation. The project gained the support of the Assyrian Universal Alliance Foundation, which gave the initiative a home. It has since grown and expanded to include thousands of publications either about Assyrians or by Assyrian authors, including incredibly rare books more than a century old.

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Visit Library Catalog

Call: 773-863-3538

Library Hours

Schedule an Appointment
Please set up an appointment with Library@acf-us.org to organize your arrival. Appointments are mandatory.

Day	Hours
Monday	OFF
Tuesday	10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday	10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday	10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday	10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday	10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Sunday	OFF

King Ashurbanipal

King Ashurbanipal (668 BC – 627 BC) is considered the last strong king of the Assyrian Empire. Though famous for his many achievements, he is known for amassing a significant collection of cuneiform tablets at his royal palace in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. His magnificent collection was the first ever library and included important texts, like the Epic of Gilgamesh. The collection, formally named the Library of Ashurbanipal, is now housed at the British Museum.

Archive of Assyrian Journals

The Ashurbanipal Library features a unique collection of more than a thousand Assyrian journals published all over the world in the last century, including the Assyrian Star and Gilgamesh Magazine. Check out our archive that dates back to the early 1900s to get a sense of what day-to-day life was like for Assyrians around the world over the last hundred years.

Ashurbanipal Library