Libraries
The buildings at the margins of the Baths of Diocletian probably contained libraries. The exact content and functions of libraries imperial thermae are not definitively known, but it is possible that these libraries contained plays or more serious philosophical works or civic records. As part of the more peaceful margin buildings, libraries would have been separated by tranquil gardens from the hubbub of the exercise and bathing areas. Libraries probably served specialized patrons and students.1
The Baths of Diocletian were more than bathing facilities: for residents of their neighborhood and for visitors, they provided opportunities for improvement of both the body (through athletics, massage, bathing) and the mind (through lively conversation and the exchange of writing and ideas).
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1. Fikret K. Yegül, Bathing in the Roman World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 126.