The central university library "Mihai Eminescu" occupies an imposing building built in 1934, having 2 levels and presenting a rounded angle towards the square.
Founded in 1839 as the library of the Mihăilene Academy, the library had only 2054 volumes at the inauguration, necessary for the subjects taught at the Academy. Over time, it has been enriched with old documents, manuscripts, books, collections of Romanian and foreign magazines, currently reaching approximately 2 million volumes and including all periodical titles published in Moldova, from the first magazines to the present. Among them are "Albina românească" (1829) with its literary supplement "Alăuta romănească", "Dacia literară" (1840), "Propășirea" (1844), "Poporul suveran" (revolutionary newspaper from 1848), "Romania literară ", "Contemporanul" (1881), "Revista sociala" (1884), as well as the complete collections from "Romanian Life", "Literary Notes", "Literary Journal". The library also maintains active exchange relationships with libraries in more than 55 countries around the world.
The history of this library highlights the attention given by Al. I. Cuza and M. Kogălniceanu, with the establishment of the University of Iasi. On November 1, 1859, under their care, Bogdan Petriceicu Hașdeu was appointed director, and his contribution to the expansion of the library fund and its organization was remarkable.
Cuza donated a valuable fund of volumes, collected works from the monasteries' libraries, concluded subscriptions to Romanian publications abroad and collected the works written by foreign authors about the Romanian Principalities.
In 1874, Mihail Eminescu took over the leadership, focusing especially on expanding the collection of old Romanian manuscripts and organizing it on a scientific basis. In 1914, Al. Philippides and Al. Myller drafted a bill to reorganize the library, but at the time, it was only partially implemented.
Source: Iași Municipality and surroundings (Ministry of Tourism, 1980)
