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#1 Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
The Library of Congress is effectively the national library of
the United States and the oldest federal
cultural institution in the US. The library consists of three
different buildings and is the largest
library in the world. The library is open to the public, but
only members of congress and other
important government officials may check out books. The library
also serves an important function
as the library of last resort in the US, ensuring the
availability of certain items to various libraries
around the United States. The holdings of the library are
extremely impressive, they include - over32 million books, more
than 61 million manuscripts, a rough draft of the Declaration
of
Independence, a perfect vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible (one
of only four in the world), over 1
million newspapers from the last three centuries, over 5 million
maps, 6 million pieces of sheet
music, and more than 14 millions photos and prints.
#2 Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK
The Bodleian Library is the library of the University of Oxford.
Established in 1602 it is one of the
oldest libraries in Europe. The Library has over 11 million
items, and many items of historical
import, including four copies of the Magna Carta, a Gutenberg
Bible, and Shakespeares First Folio
(from 1623.) The Library consists of multiple buildings, perhaps
the most visually interesting of
which is Radcliffe Camera. Its the earliest circular library in
England, and has appeared in multiplefilms, including YoungSherlock
Holmes, The Saint, The Red Violin, and The Golden
Compass.
#3 Reading Room at the British Museum, London, England
The Reading Room at the British Museum is found in the center of
the Great Court of the British
Museum. It features a domed roof, with the ceiling made of a
variety of papier-mch. For much of
the Rooms history, access was only granted to registered
researches, and during this period many
notable figures studied at the Library, including Karl Marx,
Oscar Wilde, Mahatma Gandhi, Rudyard
Kipling, George Orwell, Mark Twain, Lenin, and H.G. Wells. The
Librarys collection was moved to
the new British Library in 2000 and the Reading Room now houses
an information center and a
curated collection of books relating to history, art, travel and
other subjects relevant to the
collections of the British Museum.
#4 Boston Public Library
Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library was the first
publicly funded library in the US. It has
since grown to its present collection size of 22 million items,
making it the second largest library in
the United States. The library's McKim building was built in
1895 and contains many beautiful
murals, including Edward Abbeys most famous that depicts the
legend of the Holy Grail. The main
room of the McKim building is Bates Hall, known for its grand
coffered ceiling. The research
collection at McKim is made up of over 1.7 million rarities
including many medieval manuscripts,
incunabula, early Shakespeare that includes a First Folio,
colonial Boston records, a major Daniel
Defoe collection, and the libraries of many famous men of
history including John Adams, William
Lloyd Garrison, and Nathaniel Bowditch.
#5 Seattle Central Library, Seattle, WA
The breathtaking Seattle Central Library opened in 2004 and
features a beautiful glass and steel
modern design created by architects Rem Koolhaas and Joshua
Prince-Ramus of OMA/LMN. The
goal of the design was to make an inviting open and airy space,
and breaking the popularly held
notion of libraries being dark and stuffy, and thus hopefully
inspiring a whole new demographic of
previously uninitiated library users. The library can hold up to
1.45 million books and materials, and
serves over 2 million patrons a year.
