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Los Angeles, California, United States
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
A house fire inspired a fireproof library. It became UCLA's first major gift and Wilde's largest archive.
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To get lost in a book is one of life's simple pleasures. To get lost in one of these libraries, well, you can let us know what you think!
Vienna, Austria
Austrian National Library
Secret staircases hide behind series of bookcases to preserve the symmetry of the 300-year-old hall.
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Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Larry’s Beans
A Raleigh roaster funds $500 teacher grants and runs a telephone booth library because caffeinating communities goes beyond beans.
From the Community
Coimbra, Portugal
Joanina Library, University of Coimbra
Students once jailed beneath for sleeping in class- now bats patrol above, protecting the book stacks.
From the Community
Guadalajara, Mexico
Biblioteca Iberoamericana Octavio Paz
A 16th-century Jesuit college turned an identity crisis into a storybook future.
From the Community
Norman, Oklahoma, United States
Bizzell Memorial Library
Library stacks holding books but also important history.
From the Community
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Boston Public Library
How a French ventriloquist sparked the the idea for the first official library in the USA.
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Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen University Library
A quiet masterpiece of red brick and iron, Copenhagen’s University Library has been keeping knowledge alive.
From the Community
New York, New York, United States
New York Public Library
The fifth largest library in the world.
From the Community
Nagoya, Japan
Tsutaya Bookstore
Bookstores looking to attract more visitors really ought to take a page out of Tsutaya Bookstore’s book(s)!
From the Community
Okains Bay, New Zealand
Okains Bay Library
The best part about the Okains Bay heritage buildings is their foundation of community spirit, as they are run by locals who pour their hearts into preserving this slice of Kiwi history.
From the Community
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Seoul, South Korea
Chungwoon Literature Library
Visitors take note: you must remove your shoes before entering.
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Los Angeles, California, United States
Leavey Library, University of Southern California
A college library with nearly 1.5 million visitors a year!
Puhoi, New Zealand
Puhoi Town Library
In a country known for exemplifying the phrase “tiny-but-mighty,” one of the most delightful, and heroic, little buildings belongs to a small river-front community.
Derby Line, Vermont, United States
Haskell Free Library & Opera House
Purposely built to pledge allegiance to two flags, this structure automatically enrolls performers into an international tour.
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Ketchum, Idaho, United States
Community Library
Located all around the world. Founded by a group of 17 enterprising women from the Sun Valley area, the Community Library holds a unique chapter in the region’s history.
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Warren, Rhode Island, United States
arc{hive} book + snackery
A Warren, Rhode Island bookstore where rare titles meet cocktails and no one asks you to leave.
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Noto, Italy
Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata
An 18th century ornate noble residence now serves at the town's public library.
Keszthely, Hungary
Festetics Palace
Some of us are just late bloomers, but this hulking Hungarian palace had a bit longer of an awkward phase than we're used to.
Berlin, Germany
Berlin State Library
Based in Berlin and one of the largest libraries in Europe, the State Library is as famous for what it keeps as it is for what it has given away.
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Parker Library
Welcome to Cambridge University’s Parker Library, the crown jewel of historical artifacts in a place that was founded just a few years before the Magna Carta was signed.
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Providence, Rhode Island, United States
RISD Nature Lab
Students are encouraged to seek inspiration often hidden in plain sight - or rather as seen through a super-microscope.
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Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Providence Athenaeum
From sultry romances to path-paving protagonists - the shelves of this 200-year-old library have no shortage of stories to share.
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Admont, Austria
Admont Abbey Library
This design of this monastery library - the largest in the world - was inspired by the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
National Library of Cambodia
Only 20% of its original collection remains, but this National Library's aesthetic harkens back to a bygone era where freedom of information was not so free.
Duisburg, Germany
NRW State Archive
This brick-clad archival building in Germany was once a corn storage facility.
Provo, Utah, United States
Provo Library
The origins of this large, fancy library in Provo City, Utah began as a book club in a courthouse basement that hoped to catch the gaze of industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who was building libraries across the U.S. at the time.
Murrieta, California, United States
Rhoads Little Free Library
The Little Free Library program started as a memorial to the founder's mother and has since become a global phenomenon that promotes free sharing of literature.
Wandiligong, Victoria, Australia
Public Library of Wandiligong
This public library is one of many preserved historic buildings in the long-forgotten gold mining settlement of Wandiligong in Victoria, Australia.
Helsinki, Finland
National Library of Finland
Despite having more than 67 miles of shelf space, this library stores most of its materials, including the world's largest collection on the Russian Empire, in a cave.
Kent, United Kingdom
Leeds Castle
The library in this castle in Kent, England, which has been home to royalty since the 13th century, served as a field hospital in World War II.
Maincy, France
Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte
This baroque French chateau located just outside of Paris was built on top of three demolished villages.