Sassari Libraries: A Guide to the City's Main Libraries

Ideal for: history of Sassari, reading, research and a break in the historic center.

In the heart of the historic center, overlooking piazza Tola, stands Sassari's main public library.

Since 2000, the Biblioteca Comunale has been housed in Palazzo Manca d’Usini, one of the square's most recognizable historic buildings. Its origins date back to the nineteenth century and are linked to the donation of the personal library of the Sassari historian and magistrate Pasquale Tola.

The collection is particularly rich. The historic collection contains around 50,000 volumes, along with manuscripts, incunabula, sixteenth-century books, photographs, historic postcards and maps. This is complemented by a modern collection of more than 80,000 works, including fiction, nonfiction and an important section devoted to Sardinia and local history.

For anyone wishing to explore Sassari beyond its best-known monuments, this is probably the place to start.

Admission is free of charge, and services include reference access, borrowing, a periodicals room, databases, Wi-Fi and digital services.

Ideal for: studying, discovering antique books and visiting a restored historic building.

The name can be misleading: the Biblioteca Universitaria di Sassari is not a library of the University of Sassari.

It is a state public library of the Ministry of Culture and can also be used by people who are not university students.

Since 2014, it has been located on via Enrico Costa, inside the monumental complex of the former Santissima Annunziata Civil Hospital, which was completely restored and transformed into a modern cultural space.

The rooms combine contemporary shelving with historic architecture, while the collection includes manuscripts, rare works, Sardinian collections and highly important documents.

Among the treasures preserved by the library is the celebrated Condaghe di San Pietro di Silki, one of the most important sources for the study of medieval Sardinia and the Sardinian language.

In addition to reference access and borrowing, the library organizes exhibitions, talks, presentations and cultural events. In 2026, it was also included among the city's climate shelters.

For those looking for a quiet place to study while also wanting to spend time in an architecturally interesting space, it is one of Sassari's best choices.

Ideal for: local history, Candelieri and religious heritage.

This is not the kind of library you enter simply to look for the latest novel.

The Biblioteca Francescana di Santa Maria di Betlem, on via Artiglieria, is part of the large religious complex inseparably linked to the history of the Faradda and the Gremi.

Its origins are traced back to the Franciscan presence in Sassari, which began in the Middle Ages. Over the centuries, the collection grew through religious, historical, literary and artistic holdings.

The historic collection is particularly important, comprising 722 works, including examples from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It also includes a 1569 Bible.

The library also preserves a music collection with handwritten scores and a significant collection devoted to local history.

In recent years, the space has also become a small cultural center, hosting book presentations, talks and concerts. It is also part of the Santa Maria di Betlem Museum Complex itinerary.

For anyone wishing to understand the relationship between Sassari, the Franciscans, the Candelieri and the city's culture, it is a particularly interesting place to visit.

Ideal for: studying for many hours and working with a computer.

Among the libraries of the University of Sassari, the Lettere e Lingue library is one of the largest and most popular.

It is located on via Maurizio Zanfarino and has approximately 260 seats, computer workstations, Wi-Fi, equipment for consulting microfilm and a workstation for users with disabilities and SLD.

During the regular academic year, the rooms remain open from Monday to Friday until 19:50, making it particularly useful for anyone looking for a place to study in the late afternoon as well.

The collection naturally focuses on literature, linguistics, history, philosophy and the humanities, but access to the UniSS libraries for studying and consulting materials on the shelves is open to everyone, not only to university students.

For certain services, such as borrowing, external users may instead be required to register separately.

Ideal for: intensive study, law, economics and university study sessions.

If your main goal is to find a table, open your laptop and start studying, the Biblioteca di Scienze giuridiche, economiche e politologiche Antonio Pigliaru is one of the best-equipped facilities in the city.

It is located on viale Mancini and has more than 300 seats spread over two floors, as well as computers, Wi-Fi, accessible workstations and a self-service borrowing system.

During the regular academic calendar, the rooms are open from Monday to Friday from 8:00 until 19:45.

The library primarily serves the departments of Law and Economics and Business, so its collection is especially useful for those studying law, economics, politics and the social sciences.

Here too, it is possible to access the rooms for studying and consulting materials, while some services require registration with the University Library System.

To avoid the classic trip to the library followed by discovering that there isn't even a free chair, some UniSS libraries also allow you to check how busy they are through the Affluences app.

Ideal for: families, children and anyone who prefers a neighborhood library.

The Municipal Library System does not end at piazza Tola.

Sassari also has two decentralized libraries in the neighborhoods of Li Punti and Caniga, both designed as cultural hubs close to families and everyday neighborhood life.

Li Punti Library

It is located on via Vittorino Era and has approximately 15,000 volumes.

The section devoted to children and young people is particularly important, with around 3,000 publications for the 0–14 age group.

The library, temporarily closed due to technical problems at the end of 2025, was regularly reopened in January 2026.

Caniga Library

Caniga Library is located on via Padre Luca and holds approximately 8,000 volumes, with a substantial portion of the collection also dedicated to younger readers.

It is a smaller space than the main branch, but for precisely this reason it retains a strong connection to the neighborhood.

Both libraries offer free reference access, borrowing and access to the municipal system's services.

Since January 2026, the three municipal libraries in piazza Tola, Li Punti and Caniga have also been connected through a new single portal.

The catalog makes it possible to search for books and check which materials are available at the different branches.

The Municipal Library System also provides access to MLOL, MediaLibraryOnLine, through which registered users can use digital resources such as ebooks, newspapers and other content without physically going to the library.

The university system also has its own digital tools, starting with UniSSearch, which allows users to search simultaneously across the resources of the university's different libraries.

It depends on what you are looking for.

• To discover the history of Sassari: Biblioteca Comunale in piazza Tola.
• For historic collections and major holdings: Biblioteca Universitaria.
• For Candelieri and Franciscan culture: Santa Maria di Betlem.
• For studying the humanities: Biblioteca di Lettere e Lingue.
• For long study sessions: Biblioteca Antonio Pigliaru.
• For children and families: Li Punti and Caniga.

Library opening hours may change during the year, especially during holidays and the summer period.

In August 2026, for example, the municipal libraries in piazza Tola, Li Punti and Caniga will close from 14 to 21 August, reopening on the 24th. Some university libraries also change their hours or temporarily suspend opening during the middle weeks of the month.

It is therefore best to always check the latest opening hours before setting out.

Especially in August. Because arriving at a closed library with your computer in your backpack is a cultural experience, but probably not the one you were looking for.