The world's most extraordinary libraries
Does the sight of a room full of books fill you with joy? This collection of historical and modern temples to literature rounds up the most beautiful libraries in the world
It is a measure of how important books are to us that some of the most beautiful buildings and interiors in the world are libraries. For the centuries before the invention of the printing press, when every book had to be copied by hand, they were our most valuable possessions, and even now, when digitisation and cheap printing make them readily available to everyone, we still treasure the places where we read and study. This collection of libraries takes in everything from spectacular Baroque monasteries to the airy, serene reading rooms of the present day, embracing the best of all spaces to get lost in a book.