Gorgeous libraries from around the world

December 3, 2013 at 11:02 AM

Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, 1850. Paris, France. The library is 83.5m (274ft) long and 21m (69ft) wide and its famous iron roof is supported on sixteen iron columns. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

The George Peabody Library, 1878. Baltimore, MD, United States of America. The library employed iron for both its strength and fire-resistant properties. The columns and all the interior decoration appear to be stone but in fact they are entirely cast and wrought iron. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

The Tripitaka Koreana, 1251, Haeinsa Temple, South Korea. This view shows the inside of the longer of the two halls that house the Tripitaka Koreana. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

Utrecht University Library, 2004. Utrecht, Netherlands. The main stair which leads from the ground floor to the reception. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

Will Pryce: "This is a very imposing library from a time when Portugal was extremely wealthy and powerful. It is very dark but features intricate gold leaf which gives it magical luminosity. The backs of the bookcases each have different color, and there are integrated ladders that pull out, and secret doors that lead to reading rooms." (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

Abbey of St Gall Library, 1763. St Gallen, Switzerland. The library has manyforms of decoration, including putti in niches above the cases, representing the mechanical disciplines and the fine arts. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

Admont Abbey Library, 1776. Admont, Austria. The books in the originalcollection were rebound in white at enormous expense to match the rest of the decorative scheme. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

Altenburg Abbey Library, 1742. Altenburg, Austria. This view down thesecond half of the library from the central dome (opposite) gives a clear idea of the room’s size. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

Mafra Palace Library, 1771. Mafra, Portugal. The view shows the doors to the galleries (visible in the foreground at left), which are not hidden as they are in many libraries of the time, but are decorated with Rococo surrounds. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

The National Library of China, 2008. Beijing, China. Designed by the Germanfirm Jürgen Engel Architects, the library has a reading room that is roughly square on plan and steps downwards, getting progressively smaller at each level. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

The Codrington Library, 1751 All Souls College. Oxford, United Kingdom.Hawskmoor did not live to see the completion of the library, which was carried out by James Gibbs. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

Biblioteca Marciana, 1564. Venice, Italy. The first-floor entrance vestibule, which is reached by a dramatic and richly decorated staircase from an ornate doorway in the centre of the ground floor. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

Phillips Exeter Academy Library, 1971. Exeter, NH, United States of America. This photograph shows the view looking straight up in the main hallto the cruciform beams that support the roof slab. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

(Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

Biblioteca Malatestiana, 1452. Cesena, Italy. The room is lit by small windows with thick bull’s-eye glass that provides a diffuse green light. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

Communications and Media Centre, BTU Cottbus, 2004. Cottbus, Germany. The floors are connected by lifts and fire-escape stairs in brightly coloured circular concrete spiral staircase that twists its way through a series o one- and two-storey study spaces. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

The Russian State Library, 1945. Moscow, Russia. Although the architects Vladimir Shchuko and Vladimir Gelfreikh were commissioned to prepare designs in 1927, the library did not move into its present building until themiddle of the 20th century. (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

Shoin, Reizei House, 17th century (rebuilt 1789) Kyoto, Japan. A particularly beautiful shoin (study room). (Photo by Will Pryce) (Photo by Will Pryce)

A library is not just a collection of books, but also the buildings that house them. As varied and inventive as the volumes they hold, such buildings can be much more than the dusty, dark wooden shelves found in mystery stories or the catacombs of stacks in the basements of academia. Architectural historian James Campbell and photographer Will Pryce traveled the globe together, visiting and documenting over eighty libraries that exemplify the many different approaches to thinking about and designing libraries. The result of their travels, The Library: A World History is one of the first books to tell the story of library architecture around the world and through time in a single volume, from ancient Mesopotamia to modern China and from the beginnings of writing to the present day.

As these beautiful and striking photos reveal, each age and culture has reinvented the library, molding it to reflect their priorities and preoccupations - and in turn mirroring the history of civilization itself. (Yahoo News)

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