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Temples of Books: Magnificent Libraries Around the World
In 2016, the world’s oldest existing library reopened in Fes, Morocco. It opened for the first time in the 9th Century. These shrines to the written word date back even further, and continue to be built today. They’re a place where some of the oldest written texts are preserved and some of the newest technology connects visitors with vast amounts of knowledge. Libraries are changing, but, as places that are fundamentally free and open to all, they’re also staying the same. Temples of Books explores the most stunning examples, but it also explores how varied the idea of a library can be. It can be a grand Baroque hall with leather-bound tomes or a mid-century masterpiece, but it can just as easily be a few shelves in a repurposed phone booth.
306 pages, Hardcover
Published March 29, 2022
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238 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 19, 2023
Reflections and lessons learned:
“Having a library became a status symbol…”
I’m already a fan of libraries - I chose to spend my various working lives mostly situated in them, with everything that I’m doing revolving around that service offered to users in all elements. I’m currently in the middle of two separate library redesigns despite spending limited time working within them around project work. One is with new modern furniture to stay inline with current student studying habits, and the other to re-use some older shelving in a fresh way. In a career spanning over 25 years so far, my library layout redesigns have averaged one every two years - it’s an industry that’s based on the provision of new and historical records and archiving, but also has to keep up to date with technology and emerging needs/trends. This is why all librarians should understand elements of library design - it’s a user and stock psychology/feng shui thing innit?
This book is therefore perfect for someone like me. What’s not to completely love fall in love with on each page? The open steps and reading nooks in Finnish and Dutch libraries; the nighttime friends in the Portuguese library; the exterior of the Hunters Point library as seen from across the river; the brutalism of the Robards and Geisel libraries (happy personal reminders of the Pilkington); the specificity of the Seoul cooking library; the museum crossover of the Connecticut library; the seating in the Burundi library; the tiered shelving in the Qatar and China libraries; the upscaled linear steel feel of the Mexico City library; even an online virtual library, breaking barriers for access in a way never seen before.
The various heights, pillars, balconies, columns, shelving, study desks for groups and individuals, vaulted ceilings, decorative hints vs plain wood, domes, windows, the use of space for multiple options with movable elements, lighting - all this alongside the exteriors and the overall architecture. Multiple adventures lived through one book and not leaving the house once - loved it. And of course the last entry is one close to my teenage heart - how to get to it? Well bab, you go past the floozy in the jacuzzi and it’s just up the steps - when you see McDonald’s, your close…
My favourite design though? Definitely the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library in New Haven - architecturally genius, with a way around the classic window/book fade issue, whilst still feeling neat and organised - libraries, libraries everywhere and universal, but no-body needs to be quiet about them… 💡 📚 🦇
“For those who fancy creating their own private library, Walker has the following sage advice: ‘Collect to learn! Books that can teach you what you never thought you were interested in or can inspire you in ways that stretch your imagination - no matter the resale value are worth their weight in gold?’”
“Having a library became a status symbol…”
I’m already a fan of libraries - I chose to spend my various working lives mostly situated in them, with everything that I’m doing revolving around that service offered to users in all elements. I’m currently in the middle of two separate library redesigns despite spending limited time working within them around project work. One is with new modern furniture to stay inline with current student studying habits, and the other to re-use some older shelving in a fresh way. In a career spanning over 25 years so far, my library layout redesigns have averaged one every two years - it’s an industry that’s based on the provision of new and historical records and archiving, but also has to keep up to date with technology and emerging needs/trends. This is why all librarians should understand elements of library design - it’s a user and stock psychology/feng shui thing innit?
This book is therefore perfect for someone like me. What’s not to completely love fall in love with on each page? The open steps and reading nooks in Finnish and Dutch libraries; the nighttime friends in the Portuguese library; the exterior of the Hunters Point library as seen from across the river; the brutalism of the Robards and Geisel libraries (happy personal reminders of the Pilkington); the specificity of the Seoul cooking library; the museum crossover of the Connecticut library; the seating in the Burundi library; the tiered shelving in the Qatar and China libraries; the upscaled linear steel feel of the Mexico City library; even an online virtual library, breaking barriers for access in a way never seen before.
The various heights, pillars, balconies, columns, shelving, study desks for groups and individuals, vaulted ceilings, decorative hints vs plain wood, domes, windows, the use of space for multiple options with movable elements, lighting - all this alongside the exteriors and the overall architecture. Multiple adventures lived through one book and not leaving the house once - loved it. And of course the last entry is one close to my teenage heart - how to get to it? Well bab, you go past the floozy in the jacuzzi and it’s just up the steps - when you see McDonald’s, your close…
My favourite design though? Definitely the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library in New Haven - architecturally genius, with a way around the classic window/book fade issue, whilst still feeling neat and organised - libraries, libraries everywhere and universal, but no-body needs to be quiet about them… 💡 📚 🦇
“For those who fancy creating their own private library, Walker has the following sage advice: ‘Collect to learn! Books that can teach you what you never thought you were interested in or can inspire you in ways that stretch your imagination - no matter the resale value are worth their weight in gold?’”
August 7, 2024
Šiame albume susijungia dvi mano aistros - knygos ir architektūra. Ar gali būti geriau?
June 8, 2022
Absolutely gorgeous photos with great information about the library. I want to visit all of them minus one.
February 21, 2023
"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of a Library." — Jorge Luis Borges
This book, from the iconic German publisher Gestalten, proves Borges right. Perusing the many libraries scattered across the pages here will give you a serious case of wanderlust.
Many of the libraries featured, such as the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura in Rio de Janeiro, look to be worth the trip in themselves.
Fortunately books like these exist to tide us over until we can manage the trip.
This book, from the iconic German publisher Gestalten, proves Borges right. Perusing the many libraries scattered across the pages here will give you a serious case of wanderlust.
Many of the libraries featured, such as the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura in Rio de Janeiro, look to be worth the trip in themselves.
Fortunately books like these exist to tide us over until we can manage the trip.
March 26, 2023
Absolutely fantastic! There are so many amazing libraries in this book. Wherever I go I make it a point to check out the local library, and some of the coolest libraries are teeny tiny in the middle of nowhere. These libraries are large scale pieces of art holding pieces of art. I used it as a list making source for libraries I would love to visit. There are a couple that might be the reason I need to visit a state I wasn’t sure about but need to check off my “I’d like to visit all 50 states in my lifetime” list. The international libraries I hope to see someday, they are amazing.
My favorites from this book are in the Netherlands and the UK.
My favorites from this book are in the Netherlands and the UK.
February 21, 2025
As an institution that can curate knowledge, scrutinize the status quo, and encourage education, the library is more important today than ever. This responsibility is only growing as the freedom to publish on all manner of channels increases. Its job is to infuse our collective memory with truth. As such, the library is not, as is often feared, the victim of new media advancements, but rather a willing participant in them. — Marianne Julia Strauss
Warnings: None
There are so many pretty, pretty libraries. There were a few more monastic libraries than I had expected but it isn't unwelcome. I appreciated the focus on the photography over just description but some of them had made unusual points in the text provided. I definitely had some omg I want to go there moments. I feel like this does end up being a bit of a travel guide for bibliophiles. There are a wide range of library types from academic to memorial, from an incorporeal library helping distribute information to a private library collecting wonders of innovation. There is at least one library from each of the major continents (sorry Antarctica).
For me, though, the highlights are the monastic libraries. These libraries are from different faiths and denominations, including a Buddist monastery in north-eastern India, a Benedictine monastery in northern Austria, and the second oldest monastic library in the world, St Catherine's in Egypt. These libraries are stunning, but you can’t access them or see them unless you are there at the perfect time, an authorised academic, or a member of the right religious order.
Temples of Books is a good title for it. I saw that title and thought of a quote "For a reader, a bookshop was rather like a church." (Mimi Matthews, The Siren of Sussex). While we are talking about libraries the idea is certainly the same. There is a focus on how the library spaces and libraries, in general, have been used by patrons in the past and how they are adapting to current patrons' potential wants and needs.
Due to the nature of the book, mostly photographs and minimal text this will now devolve into mostly dot points.
• If you don’t know what kind of architecture you like before reading Temples of Books you’ll likely know, or at least have a good idea, after you finish. Personally, I’m a fan of brutalism but I can’t stand modernism, especially for libraries.
• Some of these are genius repurposing of space. Lochal (Tilburg, Netherlands) and DePetrus Library (Vught, Netherlands) are both in shared repurposed spaces. Lochal a railway depot and DePetrus a church.
• Seoul (South Korea) outdoing the world once again, this time in special libraries. Hyundai Card Cooking Library is the featured library but in close proximity, there are similar libraries dedicated to art, music, design and travel. Hyundai Card is a credit card brand and has sponsored and designed all 5 spaces on a similar concept, although the art library is smaller.
• Biblioteca Joanina (Coimbra, Portugal) — Bats as pest control! That is just awesome.
• Seattle Public Library (Washington, USA) is stunningly designed. Both externally (as a stack of glass books) and internally. It is clear this was designed in collaboration with library staff, the logical flow for traffic and the ease of access.
Collect to learn! Books can teach you what you never thought you were interested in or can inspire you in ways that stretch your imagination—no matter their resale value—are worth their weight in gold. — Jay Walker• The Library of History of Human Imagination is the private library of Jay Walker. It is dedicated to the things people could only imagine at one point. Think a copy of a German enigma machine, a box of civil-war era replacement eyeballs and a flag that was carried to the moon on Apollo 11. It is possible to see this library in person but it would be akin to finding a golden ticket. Only a handful of people see it a year. Look it up online I had never seen it and I think I’m going to go down a rabbit hole watching videos about it.
• OMAH Library (Tangerang, Indonesia) is a private (subscription) library that calls itself ‘home for the restless spirit’. In the scheme of this book, it feels unusual, but we see it mostly in relation to very Western designs. However, it would fit in wonderfully in Indonesia. The use of foliage to cover the exterior of the structure and the traditional design elements built using old techniques are perfect for the area and a nod to the past.
• State Library Victoria (Melbourne, Australia) — It is always nice to see my local major collection in a book like this. When you see a building like this regularly it is easy to forget just how important and impressive it is.
• The Uncensored Library (Minecraft) — I fully support every book about libraries and the history of libraries including this masterpiece of design and information decimation. This is a safe place for people from authoritarian nations to access the information that their governments have made illegal. It is in Minecraft a safe and anonymous place. This was an idea by Reporters Without Borders though it took several teams to bring it to life, not least of all BlockWorks who designed this Neo-Classical masterpiece. You don’t need Minecraft to access it only a Minecraft account.
• Al-Qarawiyyin Library (Fez, Morocco) — I knew that Fatima al-Fihri had established a library but I never knew what it was called. Fatima al-Fihri was an extremely impressive woman in the 9th century. She oversaw the construction of not only this library but a mosque which became a university. One of the world’s oldest universities.
• Thái Bình Lâu Royal Library (Huế, Vietnam) — This is the royal library built by the Vietnamese King in the 1820s it’s initial name wasTrí Nhân Đường (“House of Intelligence and Generosity”). Its current iteration was built by Emperor Đồng Khánh in 1821. In the late 2010s, it was restored to its former glory. This is one of the libraries that made me stop and go wow.
Some books can travel you back centuries, and some take you into the future. In some books, you will visit the core of your heart, and in others, you will go out into the universe. Books keep one’s feelings alive. Aristotle’s words are still breathing, Rumi’s poetry will always inspire, and Shakespeare’s soul will never die. — Malala Yousafzai
A representative gif:
April 27, 2024
This is a pretty standard world library showcase book, with lots of pretty pictures and not much text.
It includes many of the beautiful grand old European libraries, muddled in with the soulless minimalist modern libraries. I can't say that this was a particularly logical choice of flow. Perhaps the blandness of modern libraries intentionally served as foils to their clearly superior older counterparts.
The quality of some of the photos are very good. However, for some of the smaller non-Western libraries you'd be lucky to see much or any of the interior, let alone a book. Another problem is that some of the fugliest libraries are given disproportionately high page space, for example, the Lochal library of Netherlands which is by far the most disgusting modern design I've even seen, is given 8 full pages. So ridiculous.
While some people might see the old libraries as gaudy and inaccessible, the generic "flooded with natural light" modern libraries with their practical and pedestrian layouts make me die a little inside. A clear example of declining culture and applauding of sterile 'creativity'.
'The Library: A World History' is still my favourite book on the topic.
It includes many of the beautiful grand old European libraries, muddled in with the soulless minimalist modern libraries. I can't say that this was a particularly logical choice of flow. Perhaps the blandness of modern libraries intentionally served as foils to their clearly superior older counterparts.
The quality of some of the photos are very good. However, for some of the smaller non-Western libraries you'd be lucky to see much or any of the interior, let alone a book. Another problem is that some of the fugliest libraries are given disproportionately high page space, for example, the Lochal library of Netherlands which is by far the most disgusting modern design I've even seen, is given 8 full pages. So ridiculous.
While some people might see the old libraries as gaudy and inaccessible, the generic "flooded with natural light" modern libraries with their practical and pedestrian layouts make me die a little inside. A clear example of declining culture and applauding of sterile 'creativity'.
'The Library: A World History' is still my favourite book on the topic.
May 28, 2023
Amazing photographs, lots of very cool architecture. I loved that it included tons of baroque styles as well as modern Nordic and Asian libraries. The writing was pretty good, lots of skimmable facts of course but still highlighting unique stuff and it made me want to learn more about Colombia’s library that transformed a gang ridden neighborhood the one in Tianjin that has pictures of book spines on inaccessible shelves!
March 17, 2025
1) Strahov Monastery Library - Prague, CZ
2) Depetrus Library - Vught, NL
3) Jesuit Library at Maria Laach Library - Maria Laach, DE
4) Metten Monastery Library - Metten, DE
5) Biblioteca Joanina - Coimbra, PT
6) Biblioteca Da Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa - Lisbon, PT
7) Stift Schlägl Library - Aigen Schlägl, AT
8) Altenburg Monastery Library - Altenburg, AT
9) The Morgan Library & Museum - New York, USA
10) Austrian National Library - Wien, AT
11) Wiblingen Monastery Library - Ulm, DE
2) Depetrus Library - Vught, NL
3) Jesuit Library at Maria Laach Library - Maria Laach, DE
4) Metten Monastery Library - Metten, DE
5) Biblioteca Joanina - Coimbra, PT
6) Biblioteca Da Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa - Lisbon, PT
7) Stift Schlägl Library - Aigen Schlägl, AT
8) Altenburg Monastery Library - Altenburg, AT
9) The Morgan Library & Museum - New York, USA
10) Austrian National Library - Wien, AT
11) Wiblingen Monastery Library - Ulm, DE
November 17, 2022
There are a few interesting facts here, but the reason for picking up this book isn't the text - it's the photographs, which are gorgeous. I wish I could visit every single library here, but if I can't - at least, not any time soon - these images are the next best thing!
February 2, 2023
Filled with stunning photographs of libraries around the world,I recommend this book for anyone who loves books. After reading this, I wished I could go on a world tour of all these libraries. A beautiful book.
December 21, 2023
Magnificent book! Loved to read about both historical places and new libraries around the world! And to my surprise, I found out about a digital one done in Minecraft - The Uncensored Library!
- National Library of Kosovo - amazing outside architecture
“One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world” - Malala Yousafzai
- Stift Schlägl Library - where you can enjoy a beer while there
- National Library of Kosovo - amazing outside architecture
“One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world” - Malala Yousafzai
- Stift Schlägl Library - where you can enjoy a beer while there
July 12, 2023
Quick impressions: The strength of the book is in the photography. The photos vary in size, but they are beautiful, and it is a pleasure to view them.
(Full review available on my blog.)
(Full review available on my blog.)
January 2, 2024
Zalig wegdromen!
February 8, 2024
Beautiful photographs and narratives.
October 14, 2024
Een perfecte reisgids naar topbibliotheken wereldwijd. dus vooral een droomboek, maar Vught, Tilburg en Amsterdam zijn toch vlakbij. Sublieme architectuurfotografie.
December 26, 2024
Around the world in libraries. Beautiful pictures, great book for anyone who loves books and libraries.
October 24, 2022
“Enjoy this book, about books” was the inscription written in the front of this striking volume. And I did! I adored the stunning hardcover and thick pages. It gave a sense of extravagance. The pictures beautifully captured the many and variety libraries featured in the book. The descriptions were informative and written in an informal and accessible manner. It would be remiss of me not to mention a few of my favourite libraries from the book: George Peabody Library (USA), Library of the History of Human Imagination (USA), Omah Library (Indonesia), Library of the Hungarian Parliament (Hungary), The Uncensored Library (Minecraft Online), Parque Biblioteca Espana (Columbia), Qatar National Library (Qatar), Bodleian Libraries (UK) and Austrian National Library (Austria). This is the perfect coffee table book for any avid bibliophile.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews