The Biblioteca Nacional Rubén Darío occupies part of the National Palace of Culture complex on the old central plaza and is the principal public library and literary archive of Nicaragua. Named after the country's most celebrated poet, it holds a significant collection of Rubén Darío's original manuscripts and correspondence, as well as a broad archive of Nicaraguan literary and historical documents.
The library is open to the public and worth a short visit for anyone interested in Nicaraguan literature or the Modernista movement in Spanish letters. The reading rooms are in the restored section of the palace and have a calm, somewhat colonial atmosphere at odds with the chaotic city outside. The archive of Darío materials is the largest in existence and includes drafts, letters, and first editions going back to the 1880s.