• Home
  • Libraries
  • About
  • Publications
  • Consulting
  • Blog & other things
  • Home
  • Libraries
  • About
  • Publications
  • Consulting
  • Blog & other things
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, Canada.

Joe and Rika Mansueto Library | Chicago, IL

Bibliothéque de l'Hôtel de Ville | Paris, France

Doe Memorial Library, UC Berkeley | Berkeley, CA

Economics University Library | Vienna, Austria

BME Library | Budapest, Hungary

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 City, Canada

Zentralbibliothek | Zürich, Switzerland

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, Canada.

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, Canada

Supreme Court Library | Lausanne, Switzerland

George Peabody Library | Baltimore MD

City of Toronto Archives | Toronto, Canada

Sheridan College Library | Oakville, Canada

Rolex Learning Centre | Lausanne, Switzerland

Osgoode Hall Great Library | Toronto, Canada

Fisher Library | Toronto, Canada

Image of empty library shelves at the EPFL library.

EPFL central library | Lausanne, Switzerland.

Image of the Bata Library, a brutalist building reflected in a river.

Bata Library, Trent University | Peterborough, Canada.

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, Canada

Bibliothèque Publique d'Information | Paris, France

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, Switzerland

Library of Parliament | Budapest, Hungary

Panoramic image of the Québec National Library in Montréal.

Grande Bibliothèque, BAnQ | Montréal, Canada

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!

Interior of a contemporary library, showing the library's entrance and welcome desk in a large glass atrium. Three floors of bookshelves and worktables can be seen above the service desk. The elevator shaft is decorated with a leaf pattern in green and black.

TalTech Library, Tallinn

The veil that covers this building hides a bustling library at the heart of the Tallinn University of Technology.
Read More
Exterior of a Provençal house fronted by a formal garden.

Médiathèque d’Arles

The hospital where Vincent Van Gogh was treated in Arles is now a cultural centre with a library occupying a surprising space.
Read More
Interior of a library in a converted wine store with prominent timber rafters. The modern elements are all coloured lime green and contrast sharply with the original timber elements. A woman is climbing a flight of stairs, in front of her is a level full of bookshelves.

Kantonsbibliothek Baselland, Liestal

In 1920, when Louis Roth took over his father Leonhard's business in Liestal near Basel, Switzerland, he took advantage of
Read More
Interior of a contemporary library with rows of tables and computer chairs, and a comfy chair at the front.

Bibliothèque Universitaire de Médecine, Lausanne

On a cliff above city roofs, the new medical library in Lausanne provides busy students with room to work and breathe.
Read More
Interior of a library looking down from a mezzanine. The library has rows of bookshelves that end in a semicircular stone column. There are windows to the left, separated by half columns recalling those of the bookshelves.

RIBA Library, London

Named after Sir Banister Fletcher, the library of the Royal Institute of British Architects is among the world's largest dedicated to architecture.
Read More
Interior of a modernist library reading room with a large window to the right opening to a park with trees. To the left is a long bookcase, with globe lights above it. The room is filled with tables topped with work lights.

Biblioteca cantonale di Lugano

Situated in an idyllic lakeside park, this Neues Bauen masterpiece completed in 1942 launched Ticino's architecture towards modernity.
Read More
View more posts…

Subscribe to my newsletter

Add your email address below to receive all new posts straight to your inbox!

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.

Find me on Instagram

All photos are CC-BY-SA Thomas Guignard, unless noted otherwise. If you use them, please credit them and link back to this site.