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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 view the whole list here. I also have a page dedicated to adaptive reuse library projects.

Happy exploring!

Interior of a modern library with wood-panelled walls. It is a large room with rows of tables and large windows to the left. Students are working at the tables and computer workstations.

Bibliothèque François-Hertel, Cégep de la Pocatière

The library at Cégep de la Pocatière blends state-of-the-art equipment with mid-century elegance.
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Exterior of a traditional French bastide house in a lush green park, with trees in the foreground.

Bibliothèque les Deux-Ormes – Aix-en-Provence

Near Cézanne's childhood home west of Aix-en-Provence, this former bastide serves as neighbourhood library since 1993.
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Interior of a library in a stone vaulted space with white modern bookshelves on wheels. A fresco showing a bathing scene is on the back wall.

Bibliothèque Méjanes – Halle aux Grains, Aix-en-Provence

From granary to post office to public library, the stone vaults of the Halle aux Grains in Aix-en-Provence still offer a welcome oasis of calm next to the busy market square.
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Interior of an industrial space converted into a library with a multistory roof lit by clerestory windows supported on iron beams and poles. A mezzanine crosses the space with stairs on either side. We see bookshelves at the back and a service counter with two people interacting at the front.

Bibliothèque Méjanes – Allumettes, Aix-en-Provence

A former safety match factory has been home to the Aix en Provence public library since 1989. Soon to be renovated, this space is a beautiful example of adaptive reuse of industrial spaces.
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Interior view of a patrimonial library with rows of oak bookshelves filled with ancient books on either side and an antique globe in the middle.

Bibliothèque multimédia intercommunale d’Épinal

This public library in Vosges is built around a treasury chest: an unique collection dating back to the first millennium and its 18th century shelves.
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Exterior of a modern library at nightfall. It is a rectangular building with a facade of thin concrete fins. The building is lit with a warm yellow light. There is snow on the ground.

Bibliothèque de l’Université Laval, Québec

Contrary to what it stern exterior may imply, Laval University main library in Québec City opened in 1968 as a future-ready flexible space.
Read More

More…

Bucket list

The map below is my attempt to keep track of all the libraries I’ve been to (green and blue markers) and the ones I would like to visit one day (red markers). It is very unlikely.

If you know a library that should be on this list, let me know!

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.