Biblioteca Santiago Severín, Public library and Historical Monument in Valparaíso, Chile.

Biblioteca Santiago Severín occupies an acute rectangular block facing Plaza Simón Bolívar, measuring 58 meters long, 12 wide and 15 high. Its steel frame, clad in cement after the 1906 earthquake, carries neoclassical pilasters, pediments and capitals. A central staircase divides the interior into reading rooms, offices and stacks, with an events hall on the third floor.

The building was constructed between 1912 and 1919 with funding from businessman Santiago Severín Espina, shortly after the institution was founded in 1873 as Chile's first government-approved public library. The location and collection have since grown to support the educational needs of the expanding port and trading city.

The library bears the name of Santiago Severín Espina, the businessman and philanthropist whose 1912 donation funded the building; he was not its founder, as the institution was created by decree in 1873. Its Gabriela Mistral hall hosted the 2007 Pablo Neruda Ibero-American Poetry Prize, awarded to Cuban poet Fina García Marruz.

The building faces Plaza Simón Bolívar and backs onto Avenida Brasil, on the block bounded by Yungay, Edwards, Brasil and Molina streets; its narrow rectangular form is visible from all four surrounding streets. A central staircase divides the interior into two zones of reading rooms, offices and storage, with the third floor used as an events hall. Since the 2011 restoration, a former auditorium on the third floor serves as a research consultation room holding about 20,000 publicly accessible books.

After the 2010 earthquake, the building underwent major reconstruction with support from Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and the National Council of Culture and Arts. This restoration preserved the historic exterior while installing modern safety and preservation systems inside.