F

Flavorwire

Beautiful Libraries

Books

The 25 Most Beautiful Public Libraries in the World

By Emily Temple on

[Editor's note: In celebration of the holidays, we're counting down the top 12 Flavorwire features of 2012. This post, at #3, was originally published April 16.] We’re suckers for beautiful libraries here at Flavorpill, as you might have noticed from our lists of beautiful college libraries and beautiful private libraries from all over the world. But public libraries are probably even more important to the culture at large than either of these — they’re places where anyone can enter and partake of knowledge they offer, where anyone can engage with history, literature and culture. And while we know it’s the books that are important, everyone likes to read in a beautiful space, so we decided to take a look at the most beautiful public libraries in the world. We excluded some very beautiful libraries that may be open to the public as museums or tourist attractions but with limited function as actual libraries, like the Vatican library (which to use, you must prove your qualifications and research needs) and the library of Dutch Parliament, but we think there are enough public libraries proper to make up for their loss. Click through to see our choices for the twenty five most beautiful public libraries in the world, and let us know if we’ve missed your favorite in the comments. … Read More

Books

The 25 Most Beautiful College Libraries in the World

By Emily Temple on

[Editor's note: In celebration of the holidays, we're counting down the top 12 Flavorwire features of 2012. This post, at #4, was originally published December 13, 2011.] The college library, whether ornate or modern, digital or dusty, is in many ways the epicenter of the college experience — 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, as far as we’re concerned, is exciting enough. Colleges and universities are understandably quite proud of their libraries, which can be a selling point for prospective students and donating alumni alike, and they often become the most well-designed and beautifully adorned buildings on campus. To that end, and perhaps to inspire your studies a bit, we’ve collected a few of the most beautiful college and university libraries in the world, from Portugal to France to Boston. Did your alma mater’s library make the list? Or did we miss one of your favorites? Let us know in the comments. … Read More

Architecture

Stunning Photos of Europe’s Most Beautiful Libraries

By Caroline Stanley on

As you know, we’re always on the hunt for images of beautiful libraries here at Flavorwire — it’s kind of an unhealthy obsession. Spotted by The Millions, these jaw-dropping shots of European libraries captured by German architectural photographer Christoph Seelbach make an excellent addition to our ever-growing stash. Click through to travel from an abbey in Austria (which appears to be a breeding ground for gorgeous libraries) to a university in Lithuania with a selection of some of our favorite photos from his Bibliotheken series, and visit his website to view even more of his fantastic work. … Read More

Books

20 Beautiful Private and Personal Libraries

By Emily Temple on

Here at Flavorpill, we can’t really get enough of gazing lovingly at photographs of books. We know it’s what’s inside that counts, but one simple fact just can’t be avoided: books are beautiful, and they sure do warm up a room — or, in some cases, an entire building. Plus, at the risk of being totally sentimental, we think that the best books are often the most beautiful: even if their spines are shabby, the exude a kind of well-loved glow, beautiful from the inside out. We’ve taken a look at gorgeous bookstores and amazing college libraries, so we thought it was time to bring you a little inspiration for the home library — though we admit, not too many of these designs would fit in our own NYC apartments. Click through to check out our collection of beautiful private and personal libraries from all over the world, and let us know if you think your own collection should be on this list in the comments! … Read More

Books

Readers’ Choice: 20 More Beautiful College Libraries From Around the World

By Emily Temple on

Recently we shared our picks for the 25 most beautiful college libraries in the world, asking our readers to comment with their own favorites if they hadn’t made the list. And comment you did, dear readers! We therefore feel compelled to offer this follow-up post made up entirely of libraries suggested by you, in your infinite wisdom. We do have a few caveats: many of your suggestions, great libraries as they were, were not college or university libraries, and so were disqualified. Others we couldn’t find photos of. In addition, though many of you commented asking (not always entirely nicely) for more foreign submissions, the overwhelming number of actual suggestions were for American and British universities, so go figure. We’ve tried to represent a mix here. Click through to check out 20 more of the most beautiful college libraries from around the world — chosen by you — and bask just a little more in the beauty of learning. … Read More