One of the best libraries in the world, and certainly one of the most distinctive and an architectural feat in its own right, the National Library of Belarus is shaped like a Rhombicuboctahedron (or this, for our fellow non-mathematicians). The unique 22-story building was opened in 2006, although the library has been in operation since 1922. The library is a Read more...

The University of Coimbra General Library has been in operation since the early 16th century in Portugal. Inventory for the library dating back to as early as 1513 shows that the library at the time already held more than 120 manuscripts. Officially established in 1537, the library today holds more than a million titles, with a separate building for historical Read more...

The National Library of Singapore is now located in a 16-story building, constructed in 2005. Founded in the 1920s at the suggestion of Sir Stamford Raffles, “the father of modern Singapore,” the original National Library was the first of its kind in Singapore, located in the same complex as the country’s first school. Today, the library is home to more Read more...

The Stockholm Public Library is one of the capital city’s most notable buildings. Opened in 1928, the library was designed by Gunnar Asplund, one of the most important figures in Modernist Swedish architecture. The main interior of the building is a rotunda, giving visitors a pleasing view of many of the library’s shelves along the curved rotunda walls. The Stockholm Read more...

The Rijksmuseum Library is part of the Dutch National Museum in Amsterdam. One of the world’s foremost libraries specializing in art and art history, the Rijksmuseum holds over 350,000 auction, exhibition, trade, and collection catalogues, in addition to numerous books and periodicals. Though the items on site have been collected since 1885, the library now also features an extensive online Read more...

The José Vasconcelos Library, located in Mexico City, was called one of the most advanced constructions of the 21st century by former Mexican president Vicente Fox. The library cost nearly $100 million to build, and was the largest infrastructure investment for the Fox administration, with construction plans spanning 2000-2006. The library faced some stumbling blocks during its construction that eventually Read more...

Founded in 1572 by a German Duke, the Herzog August Library had become the largest library north of the Alps and one of the largest libraries in Europe by the 17th century. The library holds more than 900,000 books, more than a third of which were printed between the 15th and 18th centuries. Also called Bibliotheca Augusta, the library is Read more...

The Library of Alexandria was the ancient world’s largest and most comprehensive library, housing books and manuscripts (on papyrus scrolls) as well as meeting rooms, gardens, and lecture halls on its grounds. Considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the original Library of Alexandria was tragically destroyed in a fire nearly 2,000 years ago. The new Library Read more...

The Phillips Exeter Academy Library is the biggest library in the world when it comes to secondary school libraries. In a way, this is one of the most impressive libraries on our list for being merely a part of a prep school, albeit one of the wealthiest prep schools in the world. Designed by architect Louis Kahn, the the structure Read more...

Originally intended to be a cultural center of Baltimore called the Peabody Institute Library, the George Peabody Library as it stands now is the research library of Johns Hopkins University. The library was a part of the Institute from 1878 until 1967, when it became owned by the city of Baltimore. It was eventually passed to Johns Hopkins in 1982, Read more...