Customer Reviews

The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World

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This beautifully photographed book might appear, at first glance, as another "coffee-table book": that is, a book someone gives you as a gift, which thereafter sits on your coffee table unread. That hasn't been my experience. Since receiving it as a Christmas present from my wife, I find myself picking it up every few weeks, reading about how famous book collections were formed, and gazing at the stunning architecture of libraries built as temples to literature (rather than on the how-many-shelves-can-we-cram-into-this-square-footage principle).
There are university libraries (e.g., Oxford, Trinity College Dublin), royal libraries (Vienna, Prague), religious libraries (The Vatican, and several monasteries), and more democratic ones (The New York Public Library). Most of the libraries are European, except for three: New York, The Library of Congress (which is featured on the cover), and the Boston Athenaeum.
There could be more in the text about the contents of these libraries; the emphasis is more on the sheer physical beauty of these places. And beautiful they are, some of them decorated by leading artists.
Some of these libraries are easy to visit; some are accessible only to scholars with appropriate references. Some, like the library of the French Senate (a serene retreat overlooking the Jardin du Luxembourg), are available to a select few. This delightful volume lets us in, for a while. Enjoy.

Speaking as a professional librarian for more than three decades -- someone who upon visiting a city for the first time usually seeks out the main library for a look around -- there are libraries and then there are libraries. Even those in major U.S. cities tend to be utilitarian first (sometimes utilitarian only). Those dating from the 1950s and `60s are generally pretty ugly, as well. For richness and beauty, you have to go overseas to find libraries constructed in an earlier time, when architecture and ornamentation was an end in itself. Except for the small collections kept by monasteries, the library is pretty much an invention of the Renaissance and the Age of Reason. The National Library of Austria, in Vienna, is gorgeously Baroque, with allegorical paintings on the ceilings and narrow staircases concealed behind hidden doors in the stacks. The ever-suspicious Vatican Library still locks its bookcases, filled with bibliographical relics of incalculable value. The Senate Library in Paris is a blend of Neoclassical and Italianate, but it's very much a working library and the old card catalogue has been replaced by computers. I was privileged many years ago to visit the breathtaking library at the Abbey of Saint Gall, home of probably the world's most important collection of surviving incunabula. The curving bookshelves of inlaid wood, the hundreds of carved portraits, arms, and both religious and secular symbols are just incredible. And there's the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the first-ever university collection. And there are more than a dozen others in this beautifully produced volume, of which only three in the United States were deemed worthy of inclusion: the Library of Congress, the New York Public, and the Boston Athenaeum. All of which are practically new buildings compared to the others, but the same principal is at work -- to house knowledge in artistically serene surroundings. Remember the overhead shot of the LC's main Reading Room in *All the President's Men*? That says it all.

When I saw this book in a store I was absolutely thrilled, and I decided that I must have it...yet, I paid about $55 for it. For me, it was a worthy price to pay, but when I found this book on Amazon for so much less, I felt that I had to urge others to take this great offer. It is fair enough to say that everyone would like to have high quality things, yet at times we are unable to do so for one or more reasons. Yet this book is so affordable and it maintains a very high quality. It has thick pages and the pictures inside are dark and rich. Overall, this book has brought me much joy, and I hope it will do the same for you.

This is a marvelous book to whoever loves books.

It presents many important historic libraries in the world; each library is presented in informative and sober texts and with accompanying photos. These photos try to capture the overall look of the library (even if this is rather difficult) and several interesting details, sometimes including secondary rooms. The texts focus on the history of the library in question, but also give some information about contents.

There is only a minor quibble, and it cannot be taken too seriously: the authors had to chose and that led them to ignore many marvelous libraries. If there is one I particularly lack, it would be the Real Biblioteca da Universidade de Coimbra (Royal Library of Coimbra University, one of the oldest European Universities). It has been stated to be 'the most beautiful library in the world', and I cannot but agree.

But this is probably a question of personal taste. As it is, the book is wonderful and useful.

"The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World"
is kept on the fireplace mantlepiece
in our library for people to come and
view. I liked the book so much I bought
my father it for Valentine's Day. He has
visited many libraries and gone on library
tours in Europe, so the pictures brought
back many memories for him and reminded him
of how our ancestors treasured libraries
and kept the books in good condition.

Anybody who is a library connoisseur will
enjoy this book. As written in the introduction,
"One must spend hours upon hours, and days upon
days in the cocoon of a great library in order
to understand and love the cozy isolation that it
can provide. Some people will never break away
from its spell and remain eternal readers, having
lost the desire to discover the real world. Others
will know how to find lin libraries both knowledge
and its instruments."

Enjoy
Cynthia Nakai

The great libraries of history have endured such vicissitudes of fortune through the centuries - destruction by revolution, war and fire, dispersal through pilfering, confiscation, monastic decline, loss of patronage - & perhaps the unkindest cut of all, at one point the sale of its books by Oxford University to pay the librarian's wages. It is truly astonishing that so much has survived. This book is a celebration of 23 of these unique and beautiful cathedrals of knowledge in America and Europe.

At a time when most of his subjects were illiterate, the Austrian Habsburg Charles VI created the Hofbibliothek in Vienna. He decreed that its doors be open to (almost) everyone; they could enter free of charge and as often as they wished, but there were a few exceptions: the library was off limits to "ignoramuses, servants, idlers, talkers and gawkers." Alas, the Hofbibliothek is no longer free and, like many libraries included in this book, it is now accessible only to a favoured few.

Indeed, the closest most of us will ever get to the Hofbibliothek or the 22 other great libraries enshrined in its pages is through this book, and for this reason alone, it belongs in the book-lover's collection. There is a brief history of each library, but the real attraction is the spectacular colour photography, including several "gatefold" pages which open to provide wonderful panoramic views nearly 3 feet wide.

Next to the awe-inspiring magnificence of Hofbibliothek, the white and gold Baroque splendour of the Benedictine Abbey Library of Admont in Austria rivals the gold and marble Rococco opulence of the Monastic Library of Wiblingen near Ulm Germany, although after secularisation the latter lost most of its vast book collection.

Another Baroque wonder is The National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague, with its twisted wood columns and trompe-l'oeil frescoed ceiling which draws the eye upward "to confound the true already impressive scale of the hall". When I had the good fortune to visit nearly three decades ago, ironically, it was as a "gawker", on a bus tour of Eastern Bloc capitals. Whisked in and out, we were prohibited from taking photos; no postcards or souvenir booklets were available; memory faded. I am especially pleased to find this unique library included here.

The Vatican Library might be mistaken for a grand reception hall; gold leaf papal insignia, and biblical-themed frescoes framed by ornate moldings cover its panelled walls and vaulted ceilings - and not a book in sight. All of its books are hidden behind securely locked doors. The Vatican Library is, however, open to authorized researchers and its catalogue of 1.6 million printed works is fully computerized.

The somewhat austere National Palace Library in Mafra, Portugal was modeled after the Hofbibliothek in Vienna, but the money ran out before completion and the Franciscans who took it over in 1792, in keeping with their vow of poverty, declined to gild the woodwork, whitewashing it instead. This has faded to a peaceful but elegant cream, against which the coloured titles of the leather book bindings stand out.

A relative new-comer at barely a century old is the John Ryland Library in Manchester, England, commissioned by the widow of a rich industrialist to commemorate her husband's memory. It was designed to resemble the interior of a Gothic cathedral complete with soaring arches, carved oak panelling and stained glass windows but also was equipped with electricity, air conditioning and millions of dollars worth of rare books.

Less ostentatious, perhaps, but still beautiful and certainly more democratic are University Libraries at Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin and truly public libraries in New York City and Washington, D.C.

If your appetite has been whetted by "The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World" you may want to look for more in-depth treatments. For the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, just such a book exists, the lavishly illustrated "Treasures of the Library of Congress" by Charles Goodrum, Abrams, 1980, 318 pages. It contains views of the interiors and chapters on the building of the Library of Congress and its book collection, but the emphasis is on many other artefacts housed there - its vast collection of music scores, sound recordings, films, Orientalia, prints and historic photographs. "Treasures..." is long out of print, but used copies can be found.

Addendum (December 30, 2007): The World's Most Beautiful Libraries was published in 2003. In 2004 the exquisite Rococo interior of the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, another of the libraries featured in the book, was gutted by fire and many of its 100,000 books and manuscripts destroyed. A heroic fund-raising project ensued and the library was restored and reopened in October 2007. Three books documenting these events have been published in Germany (in German text). They are:"Die Bibliothek brennt: Ein Bericht aus Weimar" (about the fire); "Es nimmt der Augenblick, was Jahre: Vom Wiederaufbau der Buchersammlung der Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek" (discusses the losses, book restoration & reacquisition) and "Die Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek: Nach dem Brand in neuem Glanz" (describing the building restoration.) This third volume may be appreciated even by the non-German reader because of its plentiful and beautiful illustrations.

What a wonderful book. It is a feast for the eyes and very informative too. It covers many of the major libraries of the world both public and private with an emphasis on the decorative splendour as well as great information concerning the holdings of such libraries and architectual detail. Definately one for the coffee table and to impress your friends!

I bought this book for the pure beauty of it. I love having it as one of my first "grown-up" coffee table books. As a bibliophile, this is one book I truly enjoy having this in my collection.

The libraries presented here exude supreme reverence for the book and its contents as towering human achievements. One is hard-pressed to doubt the immortality of the texts contained within each binding. Despite the lofty craftsmanship of the art, architecture and the bindings themselves, they have served their purpose only if a reader has been invited, if not lured, to match their dignity. Invest the requisite exertion and time to read and contemplate the knowledge of great books, and you will find the lavishness of even these libraries lacking. Their material riches are first and foremost a catalyst for the enrichment of the soul through the act of reading.

Great pictures and text depict some of the most beautiful libraries in the world! Gives me encouragement and inspiration for my humble library at home!