15 Most Impressive Libraries in the World

As the center of literature, learning, and discovery, libraries are an important institution in our society. However, while your local library may be impressive, there are some libraries in the world that look absolutely incredible with lavish architectural styles and designs. So get comfortable, pull out your reading lamps, and join me for today's video as we count down the top 15 most impressive libraries in the world. 15. Library Vending Machines The Chinese capital of Beijing, it's famous for being a center of modernization and industry, and so it should come as little surprise that it's in this high-tech city that the library vending machines have become commonplace. Consisting of a fleet of 125 vending machines near major foot traffic areas such as subways and schools, the idea behind them is that they allow you to loan out books 24-7 regardless of whether or not the physical libraries are open. So while many book lovers are against the rise of machines over the printed word, I think you'd agree that library vending machines are a force for good. 14. Stuttgart City Library Modern buildings are known for their simple yet stylish exteriors and interiors, and the Stuttgart City Library certainly conforms to these norms. First unveiled in 2011, it's roughly the shape of a cube, although its length of 44 meters and height of 40 meters means that the proportions are slightly off. Featuring rows of windows, the exterior effectively reflects the blue sky around it, although it's the inside that's truly breathtaking. That's because it's completely white and features a massive central stairway, allowing you to see floor upon floor of books no matter which part of the upper levels you're on, while the inner heart of the building features a massive central room with super high ceilings. And while the library admittedly has just 60,000 books, which is quite small for a library of that size, it nevertheless was an impressive architectural feat. 13. The Weapon of Mass Instruction While technically more of a free bookshop than it is a library, the cleverly named Weapon of Mass Instruction is one of the strangest entries on this list. Made in celebration of World Book Day by Argentinian artist Raul Lemesov, it's essentially a 1979 Ford Falcon that was remodeled to look like a tank. However, rather than shoot rounds, this tank spurts out knowledge as he reworked the exterior in such a way so that it can carry up to 900 free books. It was first launched in 2015. The artist drives around the country giving out books to all those who promise to read them, and in a video created by 7UP, he claimed to do so not for money or fame, but because he enjoyed doing it. And while some might question his sincerity given the fact that he was presumably paid by a major corporation to be featured on the video, he certainly comes across as genuine in his mission to spread knowledge. 12. Admont Abbey Library Austria is known for being filled with elegant cities and beautiful buildings, and the Admont Abbey Library is no exception. Completed in 1776, it takes Baroque design to a whole new level as it's filled with flourishes and design elements that are simply exquisite. For example, it has white and gold bookcases with fancy flourishes, frescoes depicting the stages of human knowledge from thought and speech through the sciences and arts up to divine revelation, and 48 large windows that let in a massive amount of light. The idea is this architecture is supposed to mirror the ideals of enlightenment, and given the vast amounts of literature within the library's depths, this is quite fitting. Beyond its design, its length of 70 meters, width of 14 meters, and height of 13 meters make it the largest monastery in the world, while its 70,000 books makes it easy for you to find something enlightening. In any case, I think you'd agree that the Admont Abbey Library is one of the most beautiful on this list. 11. The Stockholm Public Library Stockholm is known for being one of the vibrant cities in Scandinavia, and its institutions such as the Stockholm Public Library that help make this the case. Designed by Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund, the library looks extremely modern, but surprisingly, it was completed all the way back in 1928 with inspiration from contemporary American reading rooms. The building's exterior, which has a cubic base topped with a cylinder, is quite simple. However, once you step inside, it's not hard to be amazed. Its most impressive room is a rotunda, which features circular walls of books and a cool white roof. However, other sections, such as its various wings filled with old art, books, and study spaces, are also very interesting. Beyond its architecture, the Stockholm Public Library also has a lot of books, as it includes more than 2 million volumes and 2.4 million audio tapes, CDs, and audiobooks in more than 100 languages. So, if you happen to be in Stockholm and you need to do some studying, this library is the perfect spot. 10. Biblioborå When you think of an impressive library, a large building with rows upon rows of books is probably what comes to mind. However, there are some impressive libraries that don't have a physical location, and one of the coolest in my book is the Biblioborå. That's because it's a traveling library that delivers books by donkey to disadvantaged children. First established in the late 1990s to service children in Colombia's rural northern hinterland, the initiative began when a teacher by the name of Luis Soriano redesigned the pack saddles of his two donkeys so they could carry books instead of water. He started out with just 70 books and would travel from village to village with donkeys so that children could loan them out. After gaining international attention, he was flooded with donations and now has over 4,800 books, a physical library to store them in, and a consistent income. As a result, he is now able to provide more options to the children he serves, and to this day, he continues to live out the mission he began more than 20 years ago. He is awesome. 9. Ipos Norway is a country that's well-known for both its fjords and its social services, so it's quite fitting that it was this Nordic country that made the choice to launch a unique library service that delivers books by water in order to spread literature to small communities. Sponsored by local libraries, it serviced several remote communities in Norway by literally shipping books to them a few times per year. Beginning in 1959, the service was necessary due to the fact that the country's fjords made land travel to these communities very difficult, and oftentimes, the cultural activities offered on board for children, such as musical and dramas, were the only cultural activities that those children would experience year-round. Beyond its functionality, the ship's library of 6,000 books and loaned quantity of about 20,000 books means that it's jam-packed with knowledge, and the fact that it was in service about 126 days per year made it a very valuable asset. However, once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Ipos' services were suspended, and today the library has yet to set sail once more. I hope it does. 8. The Library of Parliament When it comes to Canadian literary institutions, the Library of Parliament is one of the country's best sources of knowledge. It's located in the capital city of Ottawa. The Library of Parliament first began operations upon the creation of the country of Canada in 1867, although the building seen today was not completed until 1876. Built in a Victorian Gothic Revival style that was popular at the time, it stands apart due to its many flying buttresses, small towers, and large size. Inside, the library is just as exquisite, and it contains rows upon rows of books that climb up to circular walls, while its inlaid parquet floor made of cherry, oak, and walnut wood make what's below your feet almost as impressive as what's above it. If that wasn't enough, the Library of Parliament is also notable for being a true survivor. That's because in both 1916 and 1952, the library had to deal with major fires. The first managed to burn down nearly the entire set of Parliament buildings, except for the library, while the second caused some heavy damage, but it kept it intact, and it was because of these near-misses that the library has the incredible legacy it maintains to this day. 7. Trinity College Library When you think of an old, yet impressive library, something along the lines of Trinity College Library in Dublin is likely what comes to mind. First established in 1592, the main building dates back to 1732, and it certainly looks its age. Known as the Old Library, it's famous for its long room, which is 65 meters in length and houses 200,000 of the library's oldest books in two stories of tall and imposing wooden shelves, with all of this being separated by a super-long display case in the middle and being encapsulated by a large curved roof. Beyond its architecture, the library also stands apart for its vast and valuable collection. This has been compiled partially thanks to the fact that it is a legal requirement that the library receives a copy of every book published in Ireland free of charge, and to date the total book count is an astounding 7 million. The library also has some extremely valuable pieces, with the Brian Boru Harp, which is a national symbol of Ireland, being located there, while other major pieces such as a copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic and the Book of Kells are within its collection as well. So I think it's fair to say that Trinity College Library is one of the most impressive libraries on the planet. 6. The Seattle Central Library While the original Seattle Central Library was built all the way back in 1891, by the late 1990s it was far too cramped and far too prone to earthquake damage to be a functional building. In fact, it was so small that at any one time two-thirds of its books were in inaccessible storage rooms, and as a result it was decided that a new building had to be built, and in 2004 this idea manifested itself as a new and improved modern library. Covered completely in a steel and glass diamond wrapping, the library appears to be separated into several floating platforms, with the architects deciding to go with this strange design because they believe that it should let the building's required functions dictate what it should look like, rather than imposing a structure and making the functions conform to that. Inside, the library's main features include a book spiral between level 6 and 9 that displays the entire non-fiction collection in a continuous run, a living room on level 3 that features a teen center, family fiction collection, shop, coffee bar, auditorium, reading rooms, a study space, and a Seattle room on level 10 that houses both Seattle's history and genealogical services, and a panoramic reading room. When you further consider that the library also has a massive collection of 1.4 million books, it's not hard to see why it's become an intellectual hub of the city. 5. The Uncensored Library Generally speaking, we don't expect video games to step up to the plate and provide bastions of free literary expression, yet that's exactly what happened when, on March 12th of 2020, the Uncensored Library opened on the popular online game Minecraft. Accessed either from one of its servers or by downloading a map from the official Minecraft website, it is a massive virtual library made inside a neoclassical architectural style that's composed of more than 12.5 million Minecraft blocks. The idea behind it is to circumvent censorship in countries without freedom of the press by making banned material available to everyone from these countries, and this is achieved by having wings dedicated to various countries. The library's marquee feature is its wings on banned reporting from Mexico, Russia, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, with each country containing its own wing and each wing containing several articles by journalists who have been censored and persecuted. The library also has a reporters without borders wing with articles about unjust practices, a COVID-19 room which reports on press freedom surrounding COVID-19 in Brazil, China, Egypt, Hungary, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Thailand, and Turkmenistan, and also a central room listing the Global Press Freedom Index. The library shares its content by using in-game books that can be read by multiple people at once, and to date, a total of 200 different works have been placed inside the library. While this may seem quite small, it is a solid start, and the idea is that the library will continue to expand its offerings as time passes on. 4. The Vatican Apostolic Archive The Catholic Church has been a powerful religious force for over 1,000 years, and so it makes sense that they've developed and collected a dizzying array of scholarship. While this has been spread around the world, the one-stop shop for some of the most impressive works is the Vatican Apostolic Archive. Located within the Vatican City, the collection first began on the way back in the first century BC, and since then has grown to the point where millions of items can be accessed. Including every single papal bull, letter, and sermon ever given by or to the Pope, the Archive is extremely important to the Church, and while many have falsely been led to believe that the Archive is difficult to access, this is far from true. You see, while its Latin name has the word secretum in it, it translates to private rather than secret, so while unlimited entry is not granted, practically any academic or person who's interested in Church studies can enter regardless of their age, religion, or political belief. In order to gain access, you just have to fill in an application asking for it, and while just 60 scholars are allowed in the Archive on any given day, there is a relatively high chance that you'll be allowed in at some point or another. In terms of access, the Vatican Apostolic Archive generally releases information at least 75 years after a Pope's reign, although some documents, such as the Second Vatican Council and documents surrounding the abuses of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, were opened up much earlier at the Pope's discretion. So, while the Vatican Apostolic Archive is constantly in development, it is easily one of the coolest archives on the planet. 3. The British Library The British Empire has had a rather unsavory history of stealing cultural artifacts from places they fought, and while this has led to a host of negative consequences, one of the few positives is that this has led to London essentially becoming one of the world's most important historic and cultural centers by way of its museums and libraries. Of these, one of the most impressive by far is the British Library. Considered to be the second largest library in the world, it contains somewhere between 170 and 200 million different items, and it was created in 1973 by essentially amalgamating and adding to an existing library in order to create one large institution. As a result, its main branch is in central London and also has a subsidiary branch in West Yorkshire. In any case, the modern-day rendition of central London is absolutely massive. First and foremost, it sports a total of 746 kilometers of shelving, which for reference is about the same distance as taking a flight from London to Lyon. In order to keep everything in perfect environmental conditions, it puts its archives in a basement that's 24 meters deep, which for reference is about an eight-story building. In terms of growth, they're able to do so thanks to the fact that they receive every copy of everything published in the UK and Ireland, and in total about 1.6 million people visit the library every year. When you further consider that they have content from almost every single language and faith group and have extremely valuable works such as the Magna Carta, a Gutenberg Bible, and the original handwritten song lyrics by The Beatles, as a result, when it comes to literature, the British Library truly is elite. 2. The Library of Congress When it comes to finding books across nearly infinite themes and infinite languages, the Library of Congress is the most resourceful spot on the planet. Often considered to be the de facto national library of the United States, the library first got its start in 1800, and while a fire in 1812 reduced most of its collection to ashes, it was reborn again after Congress approved the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's entire personal collection of 6,487 books. From there, its collection grew exponentially, and today it not only spans three distinct buildings on Capitol Hill, but also has a grand total of about 171 million items in its collections, with about 10,000 new items being added every single day. In order to organize this massive hull of books, the Library of Congress doesn't simply rely on donations. Instead, it has offices around the world in the cities of New Delhi, Cairo, Rio de Janeiro, Jakarta, Nairobi, and Islamabad in order to find foreign materials and bring it back to the United States. It's thanks to these efforts that the Library of Congress has books in about 470 different languages, with this including 600,000 volumes in the African and Middle Eastern section, with 3 million items in the Asian section, and even 750,000 Russian items, which is the largest collection outside of Russia itself. The Library of Congress also has some extremely rare books, with this including a cuneiform tablet dating back to 2000 BC, a nearly perfect 15th century Gutenberg Bible, and a super small entitled Old King Cole, which is about the size of a standard period punctuation mark on a word document. If during the course of your studies you're looking for practically anything in any language from any time period, the Library of Congress is quite likely to have it. 1. The Library of Alexandria While the Library of Alexandria may no longer be around today, its important place in humanity's shared literary heritage gives it an honorary spot on this list. Considered to be the largest and most important library in the ancient world, at its peak it's rumored to have contained half a million papyrus scrolls, along with other cool amenities such as lecture halls, laboratories, meeting rooms, gardens, dining commons, a zoo, and a medical school, with the medical school being notable due to the fact that students there used medical cadavers, which is something that was not widely done until the The Library of Alexandria was founded in 331 BC in the Egyptian city of Alexandria by none other than Alexander the Great. It was soon administered by the Ptolemaic line of rulers who, by giving generous royal subsidies, expanded the library into a massive complex. Containing works by greats such as Plato, Aristotle, Homer, and Herodotus, it was truly expansive and its location right in the center of many trade routes meant that it received scrolls from across the world written in diverse sets of languages. However, over time, the influence of The Library of Alexandria began to fade. While there is a common misconception that Julius Caesar burned it down in 48 BC, the reality is the library died a slow and painful death rather than a dramatic one. Over the years, the city of Alexandria began to fade in comparison to more important cultural centers such as Rome, and between various Roman sieges, the gradual selling and looting of its archives, and the push to convert its buildings into other facilities such as churches or mosques, The Library of Alexandria ultimately faded away. By the 5th century AD, the library had essentially ceased to exist, and ever since, nostalgia of what could have been has persisted. Watch our binge-watching playlist if you'd like to watch all of our most popular top 15 videos. Grab a drink, grab a snack, and get ready to binge.