Top famous libraries of the world

1. THE MOST
FAMOUS
LIBRARIES OF
THE WORLD

2. 10. Boston Public Library (USA)
Opened since 1852, the Boston Public Library
is the second largest library in the U.S. with its
over 24 million volumes and it was the first
public library to lend out books. Besides the
books, it has as well a large collection of
DVD’s, maps, music scores and other visual
materials.The library has different branches
with the most important one being the Central
Library situated in the Copley Square in the
Back Bay neighborhood of Boston and it’s
divided in two buildings designed and built in
different times, one, the McKim building in 1895
inspired from the architecture in Rome and
Paris and the Johnson building which is a more
modern addition.

3. 9. Centrale Bibliotheek (Netherlands)
Designed by the architect Jo Coenen
and opened in 2007, Amsterdam’s
Centrale Bibliotheek is the largest in
the country and the most eco-friendly
building of the city. The library hosts
exhibitions, presentations and many
other cultural events and even has a
theater, a cafe and a restaurant with a
lovely overview of the city.The design
of the library puts an accent on light
and space, so you won’t see any
utilities popping out around inside as
everything is neat and nice. The
heating and cooling system are kept
as natural as possible.

4. 8. Bibliotheque Nationale (France)
Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris
was one of the largest libraries in
the world until it got expanded and
became even larger, and has
books covering all fields of
knowledge.The design of the
library is quite an interesting one,
with four towers in the shape of
open books built around a forest
courtyard. Designed by the
architects at Dominique Perrault,
the library was finished in 1996
and replaced the old building.

5. 7. Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Egypt)
Opened in 2002 in Alexandria, on
the Egyptian shore of the
Mediterranean Sea, the library
has space for holding eight
million books and a reading room
that spreads around over 70,000
square meters on eleven floors.
There are quite a few extra
additions to it, such as museums,
art galleries, a planetarium, a
conference center and a
laboratory for manuscript

6. 6. Stuttgart City Library (Germany)
Opened in 2011, the Stuttgart City
Library is more of a media center due to
the diversity of its departments.
Designed by Yi Architects, with the
exterior in the shape of a cube and an
open and bright interior, it became one
of the most efficiently designed
libraries.Inside there’s a grand atrium
with an open five floor chamber waiting
for its guests and quite a few diverse
departments: music, arts, children
books, information literacy and a
Mediothek. The predominating white
tone and the bright lighting makes for an
open and intimate space at the same
time.

7. 5. Library of Congress (USA)
Hosting 152 million items, the Library
of Congress in Washington D.C. is the
second largest in the world after the
British Library and it’s both the official
library of the U.S. Congress and as
well the national library of the United
States.Situated on Capitol Hill, it’s the
oldest federal cultural institution in the
U.S. and it spreads over three
buildings, since its bookshelves have a
total length of 838 miles. Yeah, it’s
hard to grasp that number when you
think of the way it relates to books and
information.

8. 4. Royal Grammar School Chained Library (England)
One of the few to continue the medieval
practice of chaining books, the Royal
Grammar School Chained Library in
Guildford has its origins back in the 16th
century.The idea is that important and
valuable books are placed in communal
areas instead being locked away
somewhere where nobody would ever
read them. The practice was adopted
from the very beginning of the library and
it’s still used today. The oldest book they
have is one printed in Venice in 1480,
and you can also read Sir Isaac
Newton’s Principia Mathematica as well.

9. 3. Saint Catherine’s Monastery (Egypt)
Built in 565, St. Catherine’s
Monastery in South Sinai is one of
the oldest and still running
Christian monasteries in the world,
holding many unique books in its
collection.For those interested, the
library provides valuable codices
and manuscripts written in the old
times in such languages as Greek,
Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Hebrew,
Georgian and Aramaic and holds
as well icons, mosaics and
priceless liturgical objects.

10. 2. Taipei Public Library (Taiwan)
The Taipei Public Library opened a
branch in the Beitou District in 2006 with
a focus on ecological conservation, both
in the books they store and the building
itself, which paved the way for eco-
friendly structures and sustainable
architecture in the region.The building
itself stands out with its green roof
draining water, maintaining humidity and
capturing solar power, its system of
recycling water for plants and toilets and
its mainly use of wood for the overall
construction and interior furniture. We
have to admit that the library it’s quite a
sight.

11. 1. Trinity College Library (Ireland)
The Trinity College Library in Dublin, serving both
the Trinity College and the University of Dublin, is
the largest library in Ireland with a massive
collection of about 6 million volumes. The library
spreads around several buildings, but the most
admired one is obviously the Old Library,
designed by Thomas Burgh.It features 65-metre-
long main chamber called the Long Room, built
between 1712 and 1732, which houses more
than 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books. The
Long Room initially had a flat ceiling, housing rare
books on the lower level and an open gallery, but
since the Library had been given permission to
obtain a free copy or every book published in
Great Britain and Ireland it had to be expanded in
the 19th century. That’s how in 1860 the Long
Room’s roof was raised to accommodate an