# Just look at these libraries **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 26, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785 "2008-12-26T22:31:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/1 "2008-12-26T22:31:37Z")
[Wow!](http://curiousexpeditions.org/?p=78) I particularly like the ones with frescoes, but most of the older ones are pretty jaw-dropping. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/2 "2008-12-26T22:47:58Z")
Wow, those are really nifty. That shows you the historical importance of libraries, doesn’t it? I mean, if you were a small kid growing up in Spain and went to check out a book for the first time and saw that, how could you not be completely taken with awe and wonder and wan to stay? Obviously, that (and showing its importance) is the reason they did that. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/3 "2008-12-26T22:54:36Z")
Several of those look like something out of _What Dreams May Come_. Its sad that the internet (which, thanks to things like Google Books and Project Gutenberg, is the 21st Century version of the library) means that libraries such as those pictured will be less visited and the odds of any new ones that look so spectacular will not be built. It also raises the question of what to _do_ with those spaces as books in printed form disappear from public consciousness. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/4 "2008-12-26T23:51:46Z")
I like the one in Rio the best. Overall, I’m not really worried that book-reading is going to vanish or become an anachronism. I think that there’s a definite difference between sitting down with a physical book in your hands and reading the same text in electronic format. Some people will always prefer real, paper books. Not everyone will devote time to reading physical books, but then again there never was a time when everyone did. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/5 "2008-12-27T00:09:14Z")
I worked at the one in Berkeley for three years (The “North Reading Room,” which everyone just called “The Reference” room. It was reverentially quiet all night, until I got on the loud speaker and said in an exaggerated “librarian” type voice: “The library is now closing. Any patrons wishing to check out…” That was fun. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/6 "2008-12-27T01:16:40Z")
I loved Suzzallo. It was gorgeous and quiet and wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/7 "2008-12-27T02:13:22Z")
Those libraries are absolutely beautiful and gives you an idea the importance that books hold. Handelingenkamer really looks interesting to me (I love spiral staircases) and the focus seems to be the books and not the building. Found a [360° view](http://www.tweedekamer.nl/hoe_werkt_het/de_tweede_kamer_in_beeld/handelingenkamer/index.jsp) of it. Looking at old(er) libraries always gave me a sense of how lucky we are to have a library in nearly every town (even if they don’t have original works) verses how exclusive libraries once were (regardless if it is a misconception of mine). (should I mention those pics kinda gave me semi?) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/8 "2008-12-27T02:59:45Z")
Those are some truly spectacularly beautiful libraries. Thank you for the link – I suspect I’ll be looking at it and planning a trip to visit all those beautiful libraries when I win the lottery! ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/9 "2008-12-27T13:05:32Z")
Great pictures. I’ve only ever been to one of the libraries shown – and that was at Biltmore Estate, where they don’t really let you pick out a book and sit down. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/10 "2008-12-27T13:14:45Z")
Oh cool, they do have the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum (Northeast Vermont, USA) included. That one was a little fun find on a trip through Vermont. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/11 "2008-12-27T13:32:17Z")
Temples raised to the God of the Written Word. And…just perfect. this Thread made my day. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/12 "2008-12-27T14:55:30Z")
I spent many contented hours of my youth in various public or college libraries, but it occurs to me I haven’t been in a library in years, except to vote. I’ve got Monday and Tuesday off; maybe I’ll go hang at my local library for a while. ETA: Also spent the night in the ETSU library once when I was temporarily homeless and it was getting down below zero Fahrenheit at night. Had sex there once, too. Oh, and they had books. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/13 "2008-12-27T15:56:34Z")
We can’t make buildings like that anymore, you know. Too expensive. And books are on the way out anyway. Everything will be online soon. Is there any way we could start the past over again, but without all the slavery and torture and stuff? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/14 "2008-12-27T21:38:12Z")
That picture of the old Chicago library (now the Cultural Center) is not very good. Some better ones: [http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Tourism/CultureCenterTour/3rdfloor.html](http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Tourism/CultureCenterTour/3rdfloor.html) [http://www.pbase.com/ashleytan/image/16157426](http://www.pbase.com/ashleytan/image/16157426) > **[File:Chicago Cultural Center - Grand Staircase and Preston Bradley Hall.JPG](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chicago_Cultural_Center_-_Grand_Staircase_and_Preston_Bradley_Hall.JPG)** [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/1252/1347848643_9b5bb5747b_b.jpg "Chicago Cultural Center ornate stairs: MC Escher style") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/spudart/1347848643/) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/15 "2008-12-27T21:42:58Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > We can’t make buildings like that anymore, you know. Too expensive. > > And books are on the way out anyway. Everything will be online soon. I assume you’re joking. If not, I give you [the brand new Seattle Public Library…](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Central_Library#Additional_images) I’ve seen this link before. It was part of the final assignment in my Library Management class a year ago. The assignment was “Marvel at these beautiful libraries.” ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/16 "2008-12-27T22:04:04Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I assume you’re joking. If not, I give you [the brand new Seattle Public Library…](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Central_Library#Additional_images) Yeah… that really compares favorably to the buildings in the OP. I can certainly see people marveling over its grace and beauty 400 years from now, you bet. It really projects “literacy and culture,” too. Not at all like an airport terminal. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/17 "2008-12-27T22:43:03Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Wow, those are really nifty. That shows you the historical importance of libraries, doesn’t it? I mean, if you were a small kid growing up in Spain and went to check out a book for the first time and saw that, how could you not be completely taken with awe and wonder and wan to stay? Obviously, that (and showing its importance) is the reason they did that. Unfortunately, as much as that’s a wonderful concept, few of these are libraries in the way that we understand the concept. Most of them house very rare books, most of which are one-of-a-kind antiques, so even if you were lucky enough to have one of these in your backyard, you probably wouldn’t be able to do more than walk in and gawk. I do know for sure that two of the Portuguese libraries pictured were in the look-but-don’t-touch category when I visited them a few years ago - the Ajuda library is in a government building that once was a royal palace and is used primarily as a reference library, whereas the one in Mafra (also a former palace) is not open from the public, though you can get as close as the entryway and oogle it from behind the velvet rope if you pay for a tour of the palace. Awesome side note - the library at Mafra houses several bats who help make sure that the books are protected from insect damage. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/18 "2008-12-28T01:40:58Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > Unfortunately, as much as that’s a wonderful concept, few of these are libraries in the way that we understand the concept. Most of them house very rare books, most of which are one-of-a-kind antiques, so even if you were lucky enough to have one of these in your backyard, you probably wouldn’t be able to do more than walk in and gawk. > > I do know for sure that two of the Portuguese libraries pictured were in the look-but-don’t-touch category when I visited them a few years ago - the Ajuda library is in a government building that once was a royal palace and is used primarily as a reference library, whereas the one in Mafra (also a former palace) is not open from the public, though you can get as close as the entryway and oogle it from behind the velvet rope if you pay for a tour of the palace. > > Awesome side note - the library at Mafra houses several bats who help make sure that the books are protected from insect damage. On the other hand, the reading room of the main branch of the Boston Public Library makes the list, and is available to the general public. Sure, it’s the old half of the library, which is only for non-circulating books, and vastly less used than the new half, which is far more modern and functional looking, but still has it’s nice points (IMHO). The Boston Athenæum is also pictured, and while a private library, membership is, as far as I can tell, open to the general public. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/19 "2008-12-28T02:07:33Z")
_swoon_ ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785/20 "2008-12-28T06:50:20Z")
It’s interesting that so many of them are designed similarly to cathedrals, on the inside at least. I wonder if this was done as kind of Renaissance social statement, elevating secular knowledge to the same level as the sacred? Maybe even an in-your-face to the Catholic church? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-look-at-these-libraries/478785.md?page=2)