What is Library of Babel?
The Library of Babel is a website built by Brooklyn writer and coder Jonathan Basile in 2015, based on Jorge Luis Borges' 1941 short story about a library containing every possible book. Each page holds 3,200 characters made from the lowercase letters, spaces, commas and periods, and the site contains every possible combination of them. That works out to around 10^4677 books, arranged in hexagonal rooms, walls, shelves and volumes just like in the story.
Storing all of that is impossible, so Basile wrote an algorithm that generates any page on demand and can also work backwards: type a sentence and it tells you exactly which hexagon, shelf and book already contains it. That trick is what makes people stop and stare. Your diary entry and this paragraph are already in there, surrounded by endless gibberish. The idea has had a long life on TikTok, where people react to the fact that someone actually built it.
What You Can Do
- Search any text and jump to the page where it already exists
- Browse hexagons, walls, shelves and volumes like the story describes
- Open a random book to see what the library usually looks like
- Bookmark and share exact page locations with friends
- Read background on Borges' story and how the site works
How to Play Library of Babel
- Go to libraryofbabel.info.
- Click Search and type a sentence using letters, spaces, commas and periods.
- Open the result to see the hexagon, wall, shelf and volume where it sits.
- Try Random or Browse to wander the shelves yourself.
Is Library of Babel Free?
The Library of Babel is free to browse and search with no account or paywall.
Who Will Enjoy It?
- Readers who love Borges or strange ideas about infinity
- Writers who want to see their words already written somewhere
- Students curious about combinatorics and large numbers
- Anyone looking for a mind-bending link to send a friend
Websites Like Library of Babel
- This Word Does Not Exist: Generates invented words with definitions, another fun play on language.
- The Useless Web: Sends you to more odd and memorable corners of the internet.
- If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel: Another site that makes huge numbers feel real.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Library of Babel free?
Yes. Browsing, searching and random books are all free with no account.
Does the Library of Babel really contain every text?
It contains every possible 3,200 character page using lowercase letters, spaces, commas and periods. Pages are generated by an algorithm rather than stored.
Who made the Library of Babel website?
Jonathan Basile created it in 2015, inspired by Jorge Luis Borges' 1941 short story.