1. Library of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland
The library was built in 1592 with the founding of Trinity College. After 400 years of collecting and acquiring different texts, it now houses over six million printed volumes of journals, manuscripts, maps, and music. This library is known for its long main room that stretches more than 200 feet and holds 200,000 of its oldest books.
2. George Peabody Library in Baltimore, Maryland
The Peabody Institute was founded in 1857 and later opened the library building in 1878. Today, the library is home to 300,000 volumes ranging from history and literature to art and architecture. The library is most notable for its beauty and history in the city of Baltimore.
3. Stuttgart City Library in Stuttgart, Germany
The Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart was famously redesigned and rebuilt in 2011 by Yi Architects. Situated in the center of the city, the building is shaped like a cube and decorated with other symmetrical cubes throughout it. The modern design often seems unappealing from the outside, but the gorgeous interior is definitely worth the trip!
4. Admont Abbey Library in Admont, Austria
The Admont Abbey Library was built in 1776 and is the largest monastery library hall in the world. Its seven ceiling murals capture the essence and beauty of Enlightenment beliefs and practices. The library holds about 70,000 volumes, though the Abbey owns some 200,000 in total.
5. Royal Portuguese Reading Room in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Voted fourth most beautiful library in the world by Time magazine, the Reading Room is known for the size and structure of the main library room and its Gothic-Renaissance style. Though founded in 1837, the library itself was not established until around 1887 and now has over 350,000 volumes. The library also has the largest collection of Portuguese literature outside of the country of Portugal.
6. Oodi Library in Helsinki, Finland
Oodi is an energy-efficient library built-in 2018 after the Finnish architectural firm–ALA Architects–won a design competition with the plans for the library in 2012. The contemporary design of the library allows for many different spaces for everyone to enjoy a different experience at the library. The third floor of the building is known as the “Book Heaven” and is where you can go to borrow one of their 100,000 items for rent, ranging from books to movies to board games and more!
7. Abbey Library of St. Gall in St. Gallen, Switzerland
The Abbey Library of St. Gall is the oldest library in Switzerland. Saint Othmar founded the Abbey of Saint Gall in 747, but in 937, a fire destroyed much of the Abbey, fortunately leaving the library intact. The library has since been renovated and updated, now housing about 170,000 books and other media.
8. National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague, Czech Republic
The Klementinum is a historical site with many different buildings, including the National Library. Klementinum was founded by the Jesuits in 1556, the library was not established until 1722 when it was a part of the school there. The library has since expanded to house over six million books!
9. Library of Parliament in Ottawa, Canada
Though the Library of Parliament’s collection stretches back to the 1790s, the building in Ottawa was established in 1876. The library holds over 650,000 items curated over hundreds of years that mostly pertain to parliamentary business or research publications. Due to covid, the guided tours have been halted. But in a normal year, this is the only way to visit and see the Parliament and the library!
10. Tianjin Binhai Library in Tianjin, China
The Tianjin Binhai Library was established in 2017 as part of the larger plan to create a cultural district in the city of Tianjin. The building is known for “The Eye” which sits in the middle of the library and serves as an auditorium for presentations. Five stories tall, the first couple of floors contain lounges and reading rooms, while the remaining floors have offices, meeting rooms, and computer rooms.