The library of the Monastery is housed in a secure area on the southwest side, and has a collection of manuscripts and printed books. Specifically, it has about 550 manuscripts, of which eight are parchment and three are parchment liturgical scrolls. It is important to note that there are a number of music manuscripts in the collection, while many of the more recent ones, mainly liturgical, are not yet known to the general public, since they are not included in the published catalogues which have been circulated. The library has about 15,000 printed books, including both rare, early editions and contemporary ones. In fact, the Monastery’s collection of early editions is one of the largest on Mt Athos today.
