Most Awesome Libraries

The Central Public Library in Vancouver, Canada

The design of the ultra-modern Central Public Library in Vancouver got its inspiration from the ruins of the ancient Roman Colosseum. The finished structure covers an entire city block and houses 1.3 million reference materials, as well as a restaurant, shop and rooftop garden, perfect for an afternoon read.

Photo: Flickr.com: Cord Rodefeld

The Peabody Library in Baltimore, United States

Gas lighting and iron created a new form of library in the nineteenth century: the iron stack hall. The Peabody Library (1878) in Baltimore is the best surviving example. Virtually everything in this picture-- the columns, the capitals, the balconies, the railings and the ceiling-- are made of iron. Hot air heating was supplied through grills in the floor. The use of iron also meant that the library could be built over a concert hall, the weight of the books supported on iron beams over the space below. If you are ever in Baltimore, be sure to add this to your list of sights to see.

Photo source: Wikipedia.com / Matthew Petroff

Trinity College Long Room in Dublin, Ireland

Ireland's oldest university, Trinity College, is also the location of the largest library in Ireland. The oldest and rarest of its collection is housed in the Long Room, the largest single-chamber library in the world with over 200,000 volumes preserved inside. Aside from famously housing one of Ireland's national emblems, the Brian Boru harp (yes, the one from the Guinness logo), the Long Room made headlines again recently for serving as "unofficial" inspiration for the Jedi Archives in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

Photo: p.im9.eu

The Royal Library at the waterfront of Copenhagen, Denmark

Also known as the Black Diamond this library is a modern waterfront extension to the Royal Danish Library's old building in central Copenhagen. Its quasi-official nickname is a reference to its polished black granite cladding and irregular angles. The building was completed in 1999 as the first in a series of large-scale cultural buildings along Copenhagen's waterfront. Apart from its function as a library, the building houses a number of other public facilities and activities, most of which are located around the central, toplit atrium which cuts into the building with a huge glazed front facing the harbour.

The Library of the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain

This Biblioteca, has one of the most valuable collections in the world of books confiscated during the Inquisition. Since the library was protected from inquisitional oversight, it preserved many prohibited books that were thought to be expunged. The collections of Arabic, Hebrew and Latin manuscripts are especially precious. The room is a vaulted gallery decorated with paintings by Tibaldi and Carducci, from the 16th century.

Photo source: Wikipedia.com / Håkan Svensson

Library of the Dutch Parliament, The Hague, The Netherlands

Volumes of records of proceedings and debates in parliament (Handelingen) are stored in the library of what was originally the Department of Justice. Built at the end of the 19th century when there was no electricity, combustible substances, such as candles and gas lamps, had to be kept away from the more than 100,000 volumes. To allow as much light in as possible, the roof was therefore constructed as a leaded glass dome. Although the library is four stories high, daylight can filter down to the floor thanks to the open cast-iron staircases and balustrades.

Photo source: webdiscover.ru (detail)

The City Library of Stockholm, Norway

The Rotunde is the main reading hall of the City Library of Stockholm. With its unique shape, featuring a cylindrical central tower surrounded by three flat-roofed cubical wings, the building projects a monumental character despite its relatively modest size. The first library in Sweden to adopt an open shelf design, the Stockholm Public Library opened its doors in 1928, when architect Gunnar Asplund and librarian Fredrik Hjelmqvist decided—to the joy of librarians all over the world—that library patrons could fetch their own books. Their self-service model was reinvigorated recently, with a renewed push toward automation for check-outs and returns.

Photo source: Alexander Dragunov

The Library of the Mafra National Palace, Portugal

This is the longest monastic library in the world, narrowly beating Admont to the title. Housed in a monastery within a royal palace, the library was originally intended to be gilded and to have an ornate painted ceiling, in keeping with other libraries of the period, but its long and protracted construction period meant that both the style of architecture and the purpose of the library changed during construction. This is one of two libraries in Portugal that house colonies of bats which live behind the bookcases and feed on the insects which might otherwise eat the books.

Photo source: s21.photobucket.com / Ana Modena

The Library of the University of Delft, The Netherlands

The Delft University of Technology Library in the Netherlands is one of the most recognizable in the world thanks to the giant steel cone jutting from its roof. The main chamber of the library sits beneath the ground, and its roof is a grassy hill where students often meet to study and relax. The four-story wall of books on the inside make it eye-popping inside and out.

Photo source:independent.co.uk

The Domed Reading Room of the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

At the La Trobe Reading Room, you'll see the best-known and most impressive architectural feature of the Library – the great reading room and its dome. Built in 1913, this octagonal building is six stories high and can house 32,000 books and 320 readers at its desks. Originally known as the Domed Reading Room until it was reopened in 2003 after refurbishment, the building is an architectural feat. When it was built in 1913, the enormous reinforced-concrete structure was the largest in the world.

Photo: Flickr.com: Charlie Brewer

José Vasconcelos Library in Mexico City

Mexico City's 409,000-square-foot Vasconcelos Library is known as the Megabiblioteca (megalibrary). This behemoth library contains over 500,000 books, displayed on glass shelves throughout the five-story structure. Designed by Alberto Kalach, the books rest on crystal shelves that seem to be suspended in mid-air. The building also has huge industrial steel fittings, and five grid-like levels with turquoise tinted glass floors. The 500,000 volumes overlook an open courtyard featuring enormous striped whale bones floating from the ceiling.

Photo: Flickr.com: Clinker (resized)