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Interior of a contemporary library. It is a large terraced room getting progressively wider at the top, with stairs connecting the levels. Bookshelves line the walls, the colourful spines contrasting against white walls and shelves.

Stadtbibliothek | Stuttgart, Germany.

Robarts Library, University of Toronto | Toronto, ON

A contemporary library interior with a large glass canopy. People are seated at long wooden tables, reading or using laptops.

Joe and Rika Mansueto Library | Chicago, IL

Bibliothéque de l'Hôtel de Ville | Paris

A grand, neoclassical, well-lit library with high arched ceilings and large windows. Rows of wooden tables with chairs and reading lamps fill the space. Shelves filled with books line the walls.

Doe Memorial Library, UC Berkeley | Berkeley, CA

Futuristic architectural building with angular design, featuring illuminated windows and a dramatic overhang. The structure is set against a cloudy sky at sunset, with a few people walking on the plaza in the foreground.

Economics University Library | Vienna, Austria

BME Library | Budapest, Hungary

A large library interior with grid-like ceiling and wall pattern. It is a long rectangular space with a series of descending terraces, filled with large work tables on which people are working.

Grimm Zentrum, Humboldt University | Berlin, Germany.

Long-exposure photo showing the side of the library illuminated at dusk, with a parking lot in the foreground.

Bibliothèque Monique-Corriveau | Québec, QC

A historic building with classical architecture is flanked by modern glass structures on both sides. Snow covers the ground, and a blurred car passes by on the road in front. The scene is illuminated by soft evening light.

Bibliothèque Maisonneuve | Montréal, QC

A library room in a former church with tall Gothic windows, high vaulted ceilings, wooden bookshelves filled with books, and desks for reading; one person is seated and working at a desk on the right.

Zentralbibliothek | Zürich

Interior of a brutalist library atrium, with cascading terraces lined with planters, in which lush green interior plants grow. Students are working at cubicles. Boxy staircases lead from one level to another. A person stands on top of the topmost staircase and looks at the atrium below.

Scott Library, York University | Toronto, ON

Biblioteca Vasconcelos | Mexico City

Image of the Cook Library, a neogothic reading room with a decorated ceiling and chandeliers.

Cook Legal Research Library | Ann Arbor, MI

Wüttembergische Landesbibliothek | Stuttgart, Germany.

UOIT/Durham College Library | Oshawa, ON

Supreme Court Library | Lausanne

George Peabody Library | Baltimore MD

City of Toronto Archives | Toronto, ON

Sheridan College Library | Oakville, ON

Rolex Learning Centre | Lausanne

Osgoode Hall Great Library | Toronto, ON

Fisher Library | Toronto, ON

Image of empty library shelves at the EPFL library.

EPFL central library | Lausanne

A concrete, modernist building stands by the water’s edge with its reflection visible in the river. A Canadian flag is on the roof, and trees surround the structure under a partly cloudy sky.

Bata Library, Trent University | Peterborough, ON

Exterior view of a brick and concrete brutalist library, showing a variety of shapes and forms. A person walks on a sidewalk in front.

Robert Hutchings Goddard Library | Worcester, MA

OISE Library | Toronto, ON

Bibliothèque Publique d'Information | Paris

Image of the Haydon Burns Library, a modernist building with a green tiled facade and vertical fins.

Haydon Burns Library, Jacksonville FL

University of Basel Library | Basel

Library of Parliament | Budapest, Hungary

Libraries

My interest in library architecture started as I was involved in the planning for a new library building. Looking for inspiration, I started researching and then visiting other libraries that were moving into new spaces or undergoing a revitalization. I often photographed details that struck my interest, and gradually became fascinated with the unique visuals offered by all libraries, big and small.

To this day, I make a point of visiting as many libraries as I can when traveling, and often plan my trips around buildings I’m interested in visiting and photographing.

Latest posts

To date, I have visited more than 300 libraries for this project. I have started collecting some of my favourite examples of library architecture on these pages. Many more can be found on my Flickr,  Instagram or Mastodon feeds.

This is a work in progress, and I will keep updating this site as I learn more about the libraries I have visited. A selection of recently updated posts can be seen below, or you can explore my library portfolio. I also have a page dedicated to adaptive reuse library projects.

Happy exploring!

The entrance to a white building labeled Kantonsbibliothek with a wooden door under a portico. Bicycles are parked on either side of the entrance.

Kantonsbibliothek Thurgau

From classrooms to reading rooms: since 1912, the cantonal library in Frauenfeld occupies the former high school.
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Exterior of a Modernist university campus showing a four-story rectangular building with a facade of alternating bands of windows and green metal panels. The building is topped with a two-story structure covered with a concrete openwork screen. The same screen is repeated in front of a low building to the right of the main structure, and on either side of its porte cochère, on which the words "Faculté de médecine" can be read. The word "Bibliothèque" is stencilled one letter at a time on the top windows. Students are show exiting the building on a paved plaza in front.

Bibliothèque de santé, Université de Strasbourg

The campus of the Strasbourg faculty of medicine signalled the postwar renaissance of a storied institution.
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A symmetrical courtyard with a central statue and fountain, surrounded by neatly trimmed trees, leads to a yellow two-story building with arched windows, a clock, and a gabled roof under a partly cloudy sky.

Biblioteca dell’Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio

Thanks to a generous donor, this palace once welcomed the sick and the poor and now hosts a major research library.
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A large, light yellow and orange building with multiple floors stands at the center, featuring a courtyard with outdoor seating, umbrellas, and parked motorcycles; hills and clear sky are visible in the background.

La Filanda, Mendrisio

From silk spinners to cash registers to 3D printers, this Southern Switzerland landmark has been reinventing itself for 150 years.
Read More
Interior of a contemporary library with curved white balconies, large windows allowing natural light, multiple floors with bookshelves, and people reading or working at tables on the lower level.

Surrey City Centre Library

The futuristic Surrey City Centre Library was designed by Bing Thom Architects and completed in 2011 as part of an ambitious plan to revitalize the area.
Read More
An interior view of a large hall with a high arched brick ceiling, a chandelier, a circular balcony, striped flooring, display booths, and several red and white banners hanging from the balcony.

Bibliotheek Neude, Utrecht

A pivotal budget decision and growing awareness of adaptive reuse have transformed an architectural icon into a thriving public library.
Read More
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Test your knowledge

If you like the GeoGuessr game, try out my maps!

  • Library Interiors – Guess the library from interior shots only!
  • Concrete Libraries – How well do you know your Brutalist libraries?
  • Toronto Public Library branches – Can you find all 100 of them?
  • Swiss libraries – Old and new, big and small, in cities and on mountaintops.

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All photos are CC-BY-NC-SA Thomas Guignard, unless noted otherwise. If you use them, please credit them and link back to this site. Scraping any content on this site (text and images) for the purpose of training generative AI models is not permitted.