For about eighteen months, the gallery was pretty much ignored, the same as all of my other posts, but a few days ago StumbleUpon kicked in. Since then, traffic has been flooding and with it, a lot of suggestions as to other libraries deserving of recognition. So, I’ve decided to compile a second gallery of beautiful libraries, this time, just from around the states. Here they are, in no particular order. Enjoy!

Andrew Dickson White Library
Part of Uris Library at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York
Alternate Angle | Guide | Panorama
Photo Credit: Olin & Uris Libraries

Bapst Art Library at Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts
Exterior | More | Stairwell
Photo Credit: Richie Town

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut
Different Angle
Photo Credit: KAALpurush

The Boston Athenaeum in Boston, Massachusetts
Different Angle
Photo Credit: Brianmoc

Butler Library at Columbia University in New York City
Exterior | Exterior | Interior
Photo Credit: jimmyarch1861

North Reading Room
Doe Library graduate reading room at the University of California, Berkeley
Different Angle | More | More
Photo Credit: Rommel Gonzales

Trustee Reading Room
Firestone Library at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey
Alternative Angle | Atrium | Exterior
Photo Credit: Angus Macleod

Fisher Fine Arts Library at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Alternative Angle | Exterior | Interior Detail
Photo Credit: David.B.Reeve

The George Peabody Library in Baltimore, Maryland
Alternate Angle | Alternate Angle | Interior Panorama | More
Photo Credit: Rata Bibliotecaria

The Lady Cornaro Window
Frederick Ferris Thompson Memorial Library
Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York
Alternate Angle | Exterior | Interior Panorama
Photo Credit: Matt DeTurck

This is an amazing shot, but I’m not sure where it was taken. If anyone has any clue, drop me a line. Update: This does indeed seem to be Galerie Bortier in Brussels‎. Thanks to
JLA_be!

Source: Nada Filipha’s Flickr Feed

This is a shot of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto, the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. Among the collection’s items are the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493), Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623), Newton’s Principia (1687), and Darwin’s proof copy (with annotations) of On the Origin of Species (1859). Other collections include Babylonian cuneiform tablet from Ur (1789 B.C.), 36 Egyptian papyrus manuscript fragments (245 B.C.), and Catholicon (1460).

I think they’d have to taser me if I ever got loose in there.

Source: 001FJ’s Flickr Feed

I can’t find any mention of where this photo was taken or even who originally took it, but it looks very professional. I’d love a print of this on my wall.

Source: We ♥ It

If I lived anywhere near the John Rylands Library, I think that I would periodically sneak in just to check if it weren’t secretly a wizard school… then, I think I would accuse of them being a wizard’s school just to see if I could rattle their cage.

Also, I think if I lived anywhere near the John Rylands Library, they’d probably take a restraining order out against me in pretty short order.

Source: gary995′s Flickr photostream

If I ever design a super-bunker to ride out the apocalypse, this is exactly what it would look like. Except, maybe I’d have a few aisles’ worth of Oreos stacked about. I wouldn’t survive very long, mind you, but I would enjoy myself while I lasted.

Source: “Stockholm Library interior” by Olivier Charles

If I ever took up a hobby as rustic as camping, this is exactly what it would look like. Seriously, am I the only one here with childhood fantasies of living in a library/bookstore?

Source: The Telegraph

On one hand, I shudder at the sight of all those books not only ruined but left outside. On the other hand, after seeing these photo, I’m probably going to dream of books rampaging through the city like the Blob tonight, and that more than makes up for the horror of know that somewhere, books are being abused.

Source: DesignVerb

I would happily build a house for myself using this method, if only I could find a climate dry enough that it would be reduced to paper mache. Still, I hold out hope that one day my coffin might look something like this…

Source: We ♥ It

I love it, but I can’t help but wince at the sight of all those books outside.

Source: Tara Holland Flickr

When I’m navigating through random snaps of libraries that aren’t mine, I often wonder why no one has ever created a library labyrinth. Sure, it would be a pain in the ass to find something specific, but just imagine how much fun it would be to wander in a maze while you were browsing for some new literary treasure to get lost in?

Source: Sabby3000 Flickr

If you enjoy this gallery, make sure you check out our other list of The United States’ Most Beautiful Libraries!

Abbey Library St. Gall in Saint Gallen, Switzerland
Photo Credit: Gerda Steiner & Jorg Lenzlinger.

The Astronomy Library of the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands
Photo Credit: (Erik)

Bristol Central Library
Photo Credit: *Firefox

The British Library reading room at the centre of the
Great Court of the British Museum in London, England.
Photo Credit: Sifter

Central Library of Vancouver in Vancouver, Canada
Photo Credit: lightgazer

Delft University Library in The Netherlands
Photo Credit: rutger spoelstra

José Vasconcelos Library in México City, Mexico
Photo Credit: CliNKer

Klementinum National Library in the Czech Republic
Photo Credit: The Czech Tourism Board

The Library of Melk Abbey, in Melk, Austria
Photo Credit: Emgonzalez

Library of Parliament (reading room), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Photo Credit: Alejandro Erickson

The Los Angeles Central Library in Los Angeles, California
Photo Credit: Candice (Bessie Smith)

Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (The Austrian National Library) in Vienna, Austria
Photo Credit: Oke

Philological Library of the Free University Berlin, Germany
Photo Credit: Sven Werkmeister

The Royal library Black Diamond in Copenhagen, Denmark
Photo Credit: madcrow

Royal Library El Escorial in Spain
Photo Credit: cuellar

City Library of Stockholm in Sweden
Photo Credit: arndalarm

The Suzzallo library of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington
Photo Credit: Cap’n Surly

Even more Libraries

If you enjoyed this gallery, make sure you check out our other list of The United States’ Most Beautiful Libraries!

Of course, these are only my top choice for the world’s most beautiful libraries. There are hundreds of libraries around the world. Here are a few other location to find photographs of some of the world’s most scenic libraries.

• The Librophiliac Love Letter’s Compendium of Beautiful Libraries

If you know of any other good library compilations that differs significantly from this list, drop a comment below.

I found this amazing shot over at Weisheng’s photostream. There’s an article on this bookstore, which is located inside a former Dominican church in Maastrichtthe, over at De Zeen. The same shop also happens to be number one on the Guardian’s list of The World’s 10 Best Bookshops.

God, if there were a bookstore like this anywhere in driving distance of where I live, I’d hide out in the bathroom at closing so that I wouldn’t have to leave during the weekends. All the kids would know me as the crazy hobo of the church bookstore.

Source: Weisheng’s photostream