We’re suckers for beautiful libraries as you might have noticed from our lists of beautiful bookstores from all over the world. But public libraries are probably even more important to the culture at large than either of these, they’re places where anyone can enter and partake of knowledge they offer, where anyone can engage with history, literature and culture. And while we know it’s the books that are important, everyone likes to read in a beautiful space, so we decided to take a look at the most beautiful public libraries in the world. We excluded some very beautiful libraries that may be open to the public as museums or tourist attractions but with limited function as actual libraries, like the Vatican library (which to use, you must prove your qualifications and research needs) and the library of Dutch Parliament, but we think there are enough public libraries proper to make up for their loss.
Vennesla Library and Culture House, designed by Helen & Hard, Vennesla, Norway
Central Public Library, Vancouver, Canada
Kanazawa Umimirai Library, Kanazawa City, Japan
Bristol Central Library, Bristol, UK
The Royal Danish Library (the Black Diamond), designed by Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Peckham Library, designed by William Alsop and Jan Störmer, South London
Stuttgart City Library, Stuttgart, Germany
Central Library, designed by LMN Architects, Seattle
Sendai Mediatheque, designed by Toyo Ito, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Angelica Library, Rome, Italy
National Library, Belarus
Library of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
Rijksmuseum Research Library, Amsterdam
National Library, Site Richelieu, Paris, France
New York Public Library, New York City
Villanueva Public Library, Villanueva, Colombia
Royal Portuguese Reading Room, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Media Library and Cultural Centre, designed by Barbotin + Gresham Architects, Lisses, France
Connemara Public Library Chennai, Chennai, India
The Los Angeles Central Library in Los Angeles, California
José Vasconcelos Library in México City, Mexico
Stockholm Public Library
Amsterdam Public Library
Old Market Library, Min Buri, Bangkok
Taipei Public Library, Beitou Branch