A library is a collection of sources, resources, and services, and the structure in which it is housed; it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual. In the more traditional sense, a library is a collection of books. It can mean the collection, the building or room that houses such a collection, or both.
These pillars of higher learning are also home to some of the world’s most incredible architecture. Below is a small collection of stunning libraries around the globe. From the historical to the modern, these centres of knowledge and learning also preserve the history and culture of their respective periods. Personally, I would find it hard to concentrate in some of these places, they are too beautiful for the eye not to wander.
Photograph by Lauren Manning
Photograph by KAALpurush
4. Iowa State Capital Law Library - United States
Photograph by Rafael Ferreira
Below are some more photographs of beautiful specimen of architecture. Have a look at te interior
of these libraries buildings.
Moldova National Library - Photograph by Daniel Zollinger
These pillars of higher learning are also home to some of the world’s most incredible architecture. Below is a small collection of stunning libraries around the globe. From the historical to the modern, these centres of knowledge and learning also preserve the history and culture of their respective periods. Personally, I would find it hard to concentrate in some of these places, they are too beautiful for the eye not to wander.
1. University Club Library - New York City, United States
Photograph by Peter Bond
Photograph by James Gillard
Photograph by Peter Bond
2. Canadian Library of Parliament - Ottawa, Canada
The Library of Parliament (French: Bibliothèque du Parlement) is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library, which is the focus of this article, sits at the rear of the Centre Block, on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, and is the last untouched part of that larger building's original incarnation, after it burned down in 1916. The library has been augmented and renovated a number of times since its construction in 1876, the last between 2002 and 2006, though the form and decor remain essentially authentic. The building today serves as a Canadian icon, and appears on the obverse of the Canadian ten-dollar bill.
Photograph by James Gillard
3. Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library - New Haven, Connecticut
Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (BRBL) was a 1963 gift of the Beinecke family. The building, designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft , of the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill , is the largest building in the world reserved exclusively for the preservation of rare books and manuscripts. It is located at the center of the University, in Hewitt Quadrangle, which is more commonly referred to as "Beinecke Plaza". A six-story above-ground tower of book stacks is surrounded by a windowless rectangular building with walls made of a translucent Danby marble, which transmit subdued lighting and provide protection from direct light. Three floors of stacks extend under Hewitt Quadrangle. The sculptures in the sunken courtyard are by Isamu Noguchi and are said to represent time (the pyramid), sun (the circle), and chance (the cube). The library also contains an exhibition hall that, among other things, displays one of the 48 extant copies of the Gutenberg Bible, study areas, reading rooms, the catalogue room, microfilm room, offices, and the book storage areas. The two books of the Gutenberg Bible are left open in a display case, and the librarians at Beinecke are said to turn one page of each book daily.
4. Iowa State Capital Law Library - United States
The Iowa State Capitol is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Iowa. Housing the Iowa General Assembly, it is located in the state capital of Des Moines at East 9th Street and Grand Avenue. The building was constructed between 1871 and 1886 . For thirty-five years before construction of the current building started, a three story brick building housed the Iowa legislature. Today's capitol is on the same grounds, and is the only five-domed state capitol in the country. The building is brick with limestone from Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Ohio, and Illinois. Iowa stone is the foundation for the many porticoes of the building. Both front and back porticoes have pediments supported by six Corinthian columns each. The dome of the capitol is gilded in tissue-paper thin sheets of pure 23-karat gold, with a protective layer sealing the gold from the elements, and the top of its finial peak is 275 feet (83.8 m) above the ground. From its opening in 1884 until 1924 it was the tallest building in Des Moines, and probably the tallest in Iowa.
Photograph by Tani Livengood
5. Suzzalo Library at the University of Washington - Seattle, Washington
Suzzallo Library is the central library of the University of Washington in Seattle, and perhaps the most recognizable building on campus. It is named for Henry Suzzallo, who was president of the University of Washington until he stepped down in 1926, the same year the first phase of the library's construction was completed. The library was renamed for him after his 1933 death.
6. Admont Abbey Library - Austria
Admont Abbey (Stift Admont) is a foundation of the Benedictines on the River Enns in the town of Admont in Austria and is the oldest remaining monastery in Styria. It contains the largest monastic library in the world and a long-established scientific collection, and is known for its Baroque architecture and collections of art and manuscripts.
The abbey's location on the borders of the Gesäuse National Park is of unusual scenic beauty.
The abbey's location on the borders of the Gesäuse National Park is of unusual scenic beauty.
Photograph by Ruy Barbosa Pinto
11. National Library of Finland - Helsinki, Finland
The National Library of Finland (Finnish: Kansalliskirjasto, Swedish: Nationalbibliotek) is the foremost research library in Finland. Organizatorily, the library is part of the University of Helsinki. Until 1 August 2006, it was known as the Library of the University of Helsinki.
In addition to being the most important of the libraries of the University of Helsinki, the National Library is responsible for storing the Finnish cultural heritage. By Finnish law, the National Library is entitled to receive five copies of all matter printed in Finland. These copies are then distributed by the Library to its own national collection and to reserve collections of four other university libraries. In addition, the National Library has the right to store in to its collection any material published on the Internet.
Photograph by Marj-Liisa
12. Mitchell Library - Sydney, Australia
The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the public library system of Glasgow, Scotland.
Photograph by Christopher Chan
13. Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at University of Toronto - Toronto, Canada
The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is a library in the University of Toronto, constituting the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. Among the collection's items are the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493), Shakespeare's First Folio (1623), Newton's Principia (1687), and Darwin's proof copy (with annotations) of On the Origin of Species (1859). Other collections include Babylonian cuneiform tablet from Ur (1789 B.C.), 36 Egyptian papyrus manuscript fragments (245 B.C.), and Catholicon (1460).[1]
The library is also home to the university archives which, in addition to institutional records, also contains the papers of many important Canadian literary figures including Margaret Atwood and Robertson Davies. Richard Landon, the director, organizes two or three exhibitions of rare books and other materials annually.
The library is also home to the university archives which, in addition to institutional records, also contains the papers of many important Canadian literary figures including Margaret Atwood and Robertson Davies. Richard Landon, the director, organizes two or three exhibitions of rare books and other materials annually.
Photograph by Fadi J
14. George Peabody Library - Baltimore, Maryland The George Peabody Library is the historical library of the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. Along with the Arthur Friedheim music Library, it is located on the Peabody campus at Mount Vernon Place in Baltimore, Maryland. It serves the faculty and students of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, the Peabody Preparatory Division and other divisions of the University.
15. Strahov Theological Hall - Prague, Czech Republic
Below are some more photographs of beautiful specimen of architecture. Have a look at te interior
of these libraries buildings.
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