This is a commonly asked question in the web development world. And the answer is - React is a library, contrary to popular belief of it being a framework.

A library is simply defined as a set of tools and resources built to help developers perform common tasks without having to reinvent the wheel. It also offers flexibility to choose how and where to use those tools in an application.

React is considered a library because it focuses on the View layer of applications, which is the User Interface, while leaving other aspects such as routing or state management to other libraries to handle.

Frameworks dictate the overall structure of the application, while React provides the flexibility of integrating other libraries to suit various needs.

React provides the core functionality to build and render components, but it doesn't impose a complete architecture or project structure. It allows developers to decide how to organize their application, unlike frameworks which often come with predefined conventions.