Some of the world’s most stunning old structures were built to house books with a reverence equal to that of cathedrals, every grand hall, domed ceiling and hand-carved scroll a testament to the importance of the tomes. All over the world, ornate libraries act as veritable temples of knowledge, their very proportions inspiring feelings of awe from the moment you step through the door.

Photographer Massimo Listri spent 30 years traveling to many of these institutions, from Brazil’s gilded Real Gabinete Portuguese de Leitura to the pale marble of Portugal’s Biblioteca do Convento de Mafra. The result is a book that’s certainly worthy of inclusion in all of those collections.

Published by Taschen, ‘The World’s Most Beautiful Libraries’ is an oversized, full-color documentation of libraries ranging from medieval masterpieces to extravagant 19th century structures, classical to rococo, modestly to majestically sized. Few people have seen quite as many of these places in person as Listri, who has captured them in all the detail they deserve.

Featured libraries include the Morgan Library in New York, the papal collections of the Vatican Apostolic Library, Trinity College Library and the Michelangelo-designed Laurentian Library in Florence, once the private library of the powerful Medici family. At 560 pages, the book may offer one of the most comprehensive ways to tour these structures short of reproducing Listri’s travels (and gaining access to libraries that are closed to the public) yourself. In addition to the photographer’s images, the book includes descriptions of each library’s history.

Of course, modern libraries can be monumentally beautiful as well – check out 14 examples like the Jose Vasconcelos Library in Mexico City, Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and the Tama Art University Library in Tokyo.

Looking like something out of a Kubrick film, the new Tianjin Binhai Library by MVRDV and local firm TUPDI features cascading floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that double as benches centered around a luminous sphere. From outside, the library has the appearance of a mysterious eye, with the layered interior elements acting as louvres for the facade. Gaze up at the walls from ground level and it seems like the books just keep going and going, all the way to the ceiling. The library contains an incredible 1.2 million books.

Designed and built in just three years, the Tianjin Binhai Library is located in the cultural center of Binhai district in the coastal city of Tianjin, outside of Beijing, China. It’s part of a complex of cultural buildings by prominent international architects, which are all connected by a glass canopy. The building has already become known locally as ‘The Eye.’

“The Tianjin Binhai Library interior is almost cave-like, a continuous bookshelf. Not being able to touch the building’s volume we ‘rolled’ the ball shaped auditorium demanded by the brief into the building and the building simply made space for it, as a ‘hug’ between media and knowledge” says Winy Maas, co-founder of MVRDV. “We opened the building by creating a beautiful public space inside; a new urban living room is its centre. The bookshelves are great spaces to sit and at the same time allow for access to the upper floors. The angles and curves are meant to stimulate different uses of the space, such as reading, walking, meeting and discussing. Together they form the ‘eye’ of the building: to see and be seen.”

Along the edges of the interior, beyond those undulating walls, various educational facilities can be found on five levels. A subterranean service space holds even more books as well as a large archive. Books for children and the elderly are located at the lowest levels, and while it may look like the bookshelves grow less and less accessible as they reach the ceiling, it’s an illusion: the books on the higher levels are actually painted onto the surface of the wall.

You might be wondering how in the world they’re going to keep this bright white space clean. The answer, apparently, is ropes and movable scaffolding. Sounds like a fun job.

Symmetrical photographs reveal the elegant geometries present in the architecture of some of the world’s most beautiful libraries, captured by Thibaud Poirier. The Paris-based photographer has traveled throughout Europe, visiting places like the Bibliotheque de la Sorbonne, the modern white Stadtbibliothek in Stuttgart, Dublin’s Trinity College Library and the church-like Biblioteca Angelica in Rome to highlight their classical beauty and make us all wish we were roaming around gazing at those rows of books right now.

“Like fingerprints, each architect crafted his vision for a new space for this sacred self-exploration,” says Poirier. “These seemingly minute details are everywhere, from the balance of natural and artificial light to optimize reading yet preserve ancient texts to the selective use of studying tables to either foster community or encourage lonely reflection. The selection of these libraries that span space, time, style and cultures were carefully selected for each one’s unique ambiance and architectural contribution.”

The photographer calls this library series ‘Palaces of Self-Discovery,’ noting that they provide the same kind of worship space and community interaction as a church, even while the act of reading is typically a solitary one. Within each of these buildings is countless opportunities to lose oneself in another place or time, take on another person’s identity and temporarily forget about all of our cares and worries.

The photos also offer something we couldn’t get from these libraries in real life: the chance to see them empty of people. Poirier seems to have gained permission to enter each library before or after opening hours to get his shots, further emphasizing the sense of solitary exploration. See the whole series at Thibaud Poirier’s website.

Every true bibliophile has gazed up at the seemingly endless shelves of books in a good bookstore or library and imagined gathering up a stack, finding a quiet nook and turning in for the night. In Japan (where else?) you can actually do just that in a library-themed hostel, though you might be too excited about your reading materials to get much sleep. The Book and Bed Hostel by Suppose Design Office features semi-private sleeping nooks built right into the bookshelves, so you can climb out and look for more books as often as you want.

The hostel has two locations – Tokyo and Kyoto – with rates starting at just $40 (4,445 yen) per night. In the true spirit of a hostel, everything is set up dorm style with shared bathrooms and nothing but curtains separating you from your neighbors, but considering the theme of the place, you probably don’t care. Book and Bed isn’t really about enjoying privacy or getting a good night’s sleep.

The Tokyo location features over 1,700 titles to choose from, stacked on floor-to-ceiling shelves. Climb the library ladders to reach the highest ones, and check out the featured books that have been hung from the ceiling as decor. Each sleeping nook is fitted with a backlight and an outlet, and there’s wifi, though you’ll probably be too busy reading to use it.

The Kyoto hostel is located just steps from many popular local attractions, like the Yasaka Shrine and the Nanzenji Temple. There’s a special selection of Kyoto-centric books in both English and Japanese. Both hostels offer striped robes and totes reading ‘Have a Book Day’ for purchase as souvenirs. You can see more photos on the Book and Bed Tokyo Instagram account.

“Book and Bed is an ‘accommodation bookshop.’ The perfect setting for a good nights sleep is something you will not find here. There are no comfortable mattresses, fluffy pillows nor lightweight and warm down duvets. What we do offer is an experience while reading a book (or comic book.) An experience shared by everyone at least once: the blissful ‘instant of falling asleep.’ It is already 2am but you think just a little more… with heavy drooping eye lids you continue reading only to realize you have fallen asleep.”

“Dozing off obliviously during your treasured pastime is the finest ‘moment of sleep,’ don’t you agree?”

Short of actually curling up in a relaxing space to get lost in the words on a page, there’s nothing reading enthusiasts love more than gazing at photo after photo of beautiful libraries, especially those they could potentially recreate in their own homes. This inspiration gallery of home libraries runs the gamut between secluded cabins in the woods and clever hammock placement to secret rooms and even bathtub-adjacent mini libraries.

Secluded Library & Guest House in the Woods

If seclusion is what you’re after, this ‘secret room’ in the woods of upstate New York offers an elevated level of privacy as you browse a floor-to-ceiling collection of books. Studio Padron designed the ‘Hemmelig Rom’, a 200-square-foot black cabin made from oak, as a guest house immersed in its woodland environment. The logs that make up the bookshelves and walls came from the forest outside.

Reading Net for Kids

Perfect for homes with mezzanines (especially if you line the walls with bookshelves), this idea from Spanish studio Playoffice would be fun to recreate. The ‘reading net’ is a meshed fabric suspended from the railings of a family library so kids (and adults) can climb in and enjoy a book in elevated comfort.

Dynamic Wall-to-Wall Library in Costa Rica

Architect Gianni Botsford designed this unusual narrow home on stilts for the tropical jungle of Costa Rica, lining an entire wall of it with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves broken up by dynamic diagonal lines that meat the beams of the roof.

Library in the Home of Architect Mario Bellini

Presented as part of a Salone del Mobile exhibition called ‘Where Architects Live,’ this photo lets us peek at Mario Bellini’s home drafting table in his mezzanine library, as well as the piano and record room below. What you can’t see in the picture is that the bookshelves in that library continue nearly 30 feet into the air, accessible by sliding ladders.

Wraparound Home Library

Books are the primary focus in the entire common area of ‘Hendee-Borg House’ in Sonoma, California by William O’Brien Jr. The living and dining area is flanked by wall-to-wall bookshelves on three sides.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Check Out These Books 18 Home Libraries For Ravenous Readers