Libraries provide many services from loaning books to computer access and a quiet place to study. Today the technological advances that have been made including tablets such as Kindle offer many of the services that once were exclusively available at the library. However, there are a number of libraries that may inspire readers as well as others to visit. The following are a few:
University Library of Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam
Located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, this library includes study areas that are conducive to relaxing. With couches, kitchen tables, and seats that are tree stumps. Rather than rows of books, there are 1,105 red crates where students can pick up books that are ordered digitally. Striving to create a domestic area where students felt more at home, designers developed some of the study rooms with kitchen tables. There are hallways with telephone areas and in the canteen, the columns have been designed to look like illuminated trees.
Vasconcelos Library, Mexico City
This library located in Mexico City, the Vasconcelos Library includes more than 500,000 books. Some appear to be suspended in space due to the design of crystal shelves that hold the books. On display in the library are several sculptures by Mexican artists including whale bones that appear to float from the ceiling. The entire library sits in the center of a botanical garden.
Aberdeen University Library, Aberdeen, Scotland
A seven story building that is square in shape, the library includes 720 panels that resemble geometric glass. However, it is constructed of granite from one quarry at Rubislaw and is quite beautiful when illuminated at night. The panels have been described as zebra stripes as well. This library has an atrium that spirals seemingly endlessly upward to a glass roof. A coffee bar in the foyer and a reading room that contains more than 200,000 rare books are some of the offerings of this library. Ascending to the second floor, a student’s library with a view of the sea includes stacks of books as do the other floors. There are 400,000 books overall with some of the rarest dating to the third century BC.
Susan Colgate Cleveland Library, New London, NH
This library is constructed from two barns. Although this aspect is cool what makes it even better is that the barns are from the pre-Civil War era. This adds to the look that is projected and earned the Susan Colgate Cleveland Library “national recognition for excellence in library design.” The library contains five levels and includes artifacts, documents, college records and other materials of historical interest. The library includes a “Haystack”, which is a rotating exhibit that offers students and others a look at the history of the area including records, newspapers, books, and letters.
Geisel Library, University of California, San Diego, CA
This library will remind those who see it of a spaceship from the movie, Inception. As a matter of fact, it has been in a few sci-fi movies. The outer design is unique, but the library features other aspects that are cool. Hosted by the library, “Dinner in the Library” is an invitation that many will find fun. This includes a silent auction, a speech from a well-known author, and cocktails. An unusual feature of the library is the floors. One and two are the lower floors and the upper floors include four through eight. The third floor is sealed and cannot be accessed from the steps or the elevators.
These advanced libraries have made strides in technology as well as provide aesthetically pleasing architecture and design, while also proving to be extremely functional for people interested in a quiet place to read, study or just relax.