25 of the most beautiful college libraries in the world

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1. George Peabody Library, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

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2. The Trinity College Library, aka “The Long Room,” Dublin, Ireland


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3. Codrington Library, All Soul’s College, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

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4. Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum, Humboldt University, Berlin

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5. Pontifical Lateran University library, Rome, Italy

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6. Tama Art University Library, Tokyo, Japan

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7. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT

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8. Galway Mayo Institute Of Technology, Galway, Ireland

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9. The University of Coimbra General Library, Coimbra, Portugal


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10. Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain

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11. The Harper Library Reading Room, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

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12. University of Salamanca Library, Salamanca, Spain

*Not in any particular order

Whether ornate or modern, digital or dusty, the library is in many ways the epicenter of a campus – at least for some students. It is at once a shining emblem of vast, acquirable knowledge, a place for deep discussions and meetings of the mind, and of course, a big building full of books, which is exciting enough.

From Portugal to France to Boston here are 25 of the most beautiful college libraries in the world.

13-25 after the jump!

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13. Philological Library of the Free University, Berlin, Germany

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14. Fleet Library, RISD, Rhode Island


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15. Queen’s College Library, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

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16. The Joe & Rika Mansueto Library, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

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17. Central Library, University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands

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18. Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK

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19. Cornell Law School Library, Ithaca, NY

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20. University of Michigan Law Library, Ann Arbor, MI

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21. The Geisel Library at University of California, San Diego

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22. Old Library, St. John’s College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK

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23. Duke Humfrey’s Library, Bodleian Library, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

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24. Suzzallo Library’s Graduate Reading Room at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA

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25. Widener Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Source and photos: Flavorwire here and here

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28 comments

  1. oh my effing goodness! i want to travel the world and only visit libraries NOW! the long room in dublin was absolutely gorgeous, not to mention the others… farrrk

    xx becoming-urban.blogspot.com/

  2. Thanks a lot! Let me know what is a real library in the world. I must spend all the time in this library to fill up my brain, if i were there! My best friend loves to go library in Hong Kong, I must share this line to him! It is really so great.

  3. I studied Film and TV at the college campus at no. 8 (the interior shot) It is the Cluain Mhuire campus of GMIT, and it is a lovely library in what is otherwise a very plain building but I am afraid that the exterior shot is of the outside of the library of a different campus (of GMIT) down the road…

  4. I studied Film and TV at the college campus at no. 8 (the interior shot) It is the Cluain Mhuire campus of GMIT, and it is a lovely library in what is otherwise a very plain building but I am afraid that the exterior shot is of the outside of the library of a different campus (of GMIT) down the road…

  5. Oh dear, I studied Medicine and I've literally spent half of my life in libraries, so I have this love/hate feeling about them,hhaha…but oh my Gosh…these are beyond gorgeous…seriously,all architects should know how important it is to build a nice place when the people that is going to use it is going to spend half of the day inside those walls.
    Loved this post. xoxo

  6. Loved your "collection"! the Old Library in Dublin would be my #1, though. 🙂

    But how about adding the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève in Paris. The architecture there is so beautiful!

  7. Um…the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology library doesn't look like that. The front is GMIT but I have no idea what library that is…it's not in GMIT though that's for sure.

  8. Hi Pat, the outside shot is from the Dublin Rd campus and the lovely wooden interior is in the Art Library in the Monivea Rd campus, both GMIT in Galway

  9. Re Harry Potter library – the library scenes in the Harry Potter films were actually shot in no. 23 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford University!

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