World’s Most Beautiful Public Libraries

Public Libraries are a Godsend, and whether they’re 1970s concrete monstrosities or beautiful grand buildings they are filled with magic, on every single shelf. However, some libraries stand out as especially beautiful and today we are paying homage to those. Here are thirteen public libraries, you’re going to wish you had a library card for.



Central Public Library, Vancouver, Canada

Open 7 days a week, Central Public Library, Vancouver can be found at 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 6B1.

Isn’t it grand? I love it.

Library of Alexandria, Egypt

Reborn in 2002 to honour its ancient namesake, the modern Library of Alexandria. The library is open every day but Friday and more details can be found at bibalex.org

Royal Portuguese Reading Room, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Or as they know it, Real Gabinete Português de Leitura is a Neo-Manueline-style library with ornate decor & a vast collection of volumes by Portuguese authors. It can be found at Rua Luís de Camões, 30
Centro – Rio de Janeiro – RJ.



Bristol Central Library, Bristol, UK

A historic building that houses the main collection of Bristol’s public libraries, it can be found at College Green, Bristol BS1 5TL.

Amsterdam Public Library, The Netherlands

The Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam is a stunning modern library and can be found at Linnaeusstraat 44, 1092 CL Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Biblioteca Angelica, Rome, Italy

Opened to the public in 1609 the Angelica Library houses 180,000 manuscripts and can be found at Piazza di S. Agostino 8 00186 Roma, Itali

The Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen

The Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen, Denmark is the largest library in all Nordic countries and is set on the Waterfront in Copenhagen.

National Library, Site Richelieu, Paris, France

The National Library boasts 14 million volumes on 250 miles of shelves! You’ll find it at, Quai François Mauriac, 75013 Paris, France

Stuttgart City Library, Stuttgart, Germany

This modern library opened back in 2011 and Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart is modern indeed, built over nine storeys with the onus on light and space, it can be found at Mailänder Pl. 1, 70173 Stuttgart.

Rijksmuseum Research Library, Amsterdam

Rijksmueum is the largest public art history research library in the Netherlands and can be found at Museumstraat 1, 1071XX Amsterdam, Netherlands.

New York Public Library, New York City

The New York Public Library is world famous and the second largest public library in the US. It houses more than 53 millions volumes and can be found at 5th Ave at 42nd St, New York, NY 10018, United States.



Connemara Public Library Chennai, Chennai, India

Connemara Public Library at Egmore in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, is one of the four National Depository Libraries which receive a copy of all books, newspapers and periodicals published in India. It can be found at Pantheon Rd, Egmore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600008, India.

Stockholm Public Library, Stockholm

Stockholm Public Library is one of our featured libraries here at For Reading Addicts, more details here.

We hope you enjoyed that, and if you haven’t yet had your library fill, you can see our previous feature ‘World’s Most Beautiful Libraries‘ too.