14 Must-See Libraries From Around the World

Located in North Terrace, Adelaide, Australia, the State Library of South Australia is the largest public research library in the state, with a collection of books focused on pre-settlement Australia to present day.

Also known as the Furness Library, the Fisher Fine Arts Library is located on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus.
Built in 1890, it is home to the University’s archeological collection and has been designated as a National Historical Landmark since 1985.

As the largest library in Latin America, the National Library of Brazil is the seventh largest library in the world and houses about 9 million items.

Serving as the private library to newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, the Gothic Study room has many visitors focusing more on the intricate detailing than on the books.

The Strahov Library is located in Prague, Czech Republic, in the Strahov Monastery. It is home to 200,000 volumes, including 3,000 manuscripts and 1,500 first prints located in the special depository and was incorporated into the Memorial of National Literature in 1950.

Renovated in 2013 from a regular municipal library, the Takeo City Library in Japan now has a spacious layout and over 800,000 visitors per year. It is on the up-and-coming list of tourist attractions in Japan. It even has a Starbucks!

Known as the Lucas Research Library, this library located in California is a full-service research department for film, television, and theater productions with an extensive collection of books, periodicals, and images.

Located in Japan, the Tama Art University Library is dedicated to art education and research for those attending or working for the university. It is also home to numerous collections on design, architecture, film, and photography.

Built in 1744, this Rococo-style library is housed in the heart of Wiblingen Abbey with many statues and a sweeping ceiling fresco. It was built to hold “the treasures of wisdom and science.”

Located on the Yale University campus, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library is one of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts. While items do not circulate, visitors are always more than welcome to take one of the 180,000 artifacts from the central tower or one million volumes from the underground stacks to the reading rooms.

Located in one of the largest cities in South Africa, the Port Elizabeth Library is considered the perfect example of Victorian Gothic Architecture. Today, it is the only historic building built as a public library that still serves as such. Visitors are always welcome to browse the stacks.

Previously belonging to Pierpont Morgan, this public library is home to an astonishing amount of rare books, manuscripts, drawings, prints, and ancient artifacts, all collected by the financier himself.

Literally translating to “Old Library”, the Handelingenkamer Library houses the acts of the First and Lower House of Parliament. Located in the Binnenhof complex, which is the center of politics and the department of justice, the library houses more than 30,000 books.

Currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic, the Klementinum Library is known for its beautiful Baroque interior and for holding the oldest weather recording for the area from 1775, and continues recording weather data to this day. In 2005, the library received the UNESCO Memory of the World Prize.