Legal Research

25 Most Modern Libraries in the World

By Simon Fodden

…at least according to a list put together by Best Colleges Online. The list is divided under the heads of Architecture, Technology and Innovation, and Digital Collections.

Not a single Canadian pick, alas. And though the bulk are U.S. libraries, of course, there’s a solid rank of choices from abroad under the architecture section, for some reason. And speaking of the architecture section, I have to say that whoever put the list together wasn’t thinking: many of the links lead to the main library sites, where (somewhat surprisingly) there are no photos of the building or the facilities.¹ Dumb.

Here’s a brief sampling, supplemented with graphics links where required:

Bibliothèque nationale de France (architecture) [graphics link: English video]

Halmstad Library (architecture) [graphics link: Wikimedia Commons]

Bow Idea Store (technology and innovation)

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (technology and innovation)

National Library of Australia (digital collections)

Not much new here, but there might be a nugget for a library fan or two.

1. For much more interesting pics, see The Most Interesting Libraries in the World.

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on September 04, 2008 (boomark / email).