Libraries of the World: El Escorial, New Castile, Spain

The many views of El Escorial

The library at El Escorial is located inside a magnificent and very large building in New Castile, central Spain, near Madrid. The main building was created (1563–84) as the monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial by Philip II to commemorate the Spanish victory over the French at Saint-Quentin (1557).

Its buildings include a monastery, church, royal palace, college, and royal Spanish tomb, as well as the library which was added by King Phillip himself. He also provided the books that were originally held in the library.

According to feelmadrid.com, "the library at El Escorial holds almost 45,000 printed works from the 15th and 16th centuries, and some 5,000 manuscripts in Arabic, Latin, and Spanish."

The frescoes painted on the vaulted ceilings represent the seven liberal arts: rhetoric, dialectic, music, grammar, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy.

Information in the above article from www. feelgoodmadrid.com.

Eight Legendary Ancient Libraries

Even before there were bound books, there were libraries. In cities across the world, these temples of knowledge served not only as storehouses for clay tablets and scrolls, but also as centers of culture and learning. Click on the link below, to get the facts on eight of the most magnificent libraries of the ancient world.

Text and photo are from History.com.

Libraries of the World: Hamburg, PA

Photo from Welcome to Historic Hamburg

Have you ever been in the Hamburg Public Library in Hamburg, Pennsylvania? It's a part of the Berks County Public Library System. On December 8, 1988, the Hamburg Public Library was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"Within Berks County, the library has the distinction of being the longest continuing library, the first building designed as a library that is still in use today, and the first library built with funds from the industrialist giant, Andrew Carnegie. 

The copper cupola roof was renovated in 2002. The rotunda in the inside is impressive, and much of the interior (wooden bookshelves, circulation desk, round bench in the entry) are original. Note the tin ceiling." (From "Historical and Architectural Tour of Downtown Hamburg, Pennsylvania").   

The Hamburg Public Library is located at 35 North Third Street and is open 10:00-8:00 on Mondays, 12:00-8:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00-5:00 on Wednesdays and Fridays, and 9:00-4:00 on Saturday. It is closed on Saturdays in July and August and closed on Sundays year-round.

Libraries of the World: Kansas City MO Central Library Garage

Central Library Garage: Photo by Mike Sinclair

 

Ok, so this isn't exactly a library, but you have to admit it is quite a unique structure for a library parking garage and we couldn't resist posting it so you could all get a look at it.

The Community Bookshelf is the parking garage for the Central Library in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

According to the library's web site, "It runs along the south wall of the Central Library's parking garage. The book spines, which measure approximately 25 feet by 9 feet, are made of signboard mylar."

"The shelf showcases 22 titles reflecting a wide variety of reading interests as suggested by Kansas City readers and then selected by The Kansas City Public Library Board of Trustees." 

The following is a list of the 22 book titles on those spines. Are you surprised by any of the choices? Do you think something else should have been added? 

• Kansas City Stories
• Catch-22
• Children's Stories
• Silent Spring
• O Pioneers!
• 100 Years of Solitude
• Their Eyes Were Watching God
• Fahrenheit 451
• The Republic
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Tao Te Ching
• The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes
• Black Elk Speaks
• Invisible Man
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Journals of the Expedition (Lewis and Clark)
• Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
• Lord of the Rings
• A Tale of Two Cities
• Charlotte's Web
• Romeo and Juliet
• Truman

This information and photo is from the Kansas City MO Library's web site. Click on the link for more information and additional views of the library's garage.

Libraries of the World: The Bibliothèque nationale de France

The Bibliothèque nationale de France collects, preserves and makes known the national documentary heritage.

The BnF’s collections are unique in the world: 14 million books and printed documents, manuscripts, prints, photographs, maps and plans, scores, coins, medals, sound documents, video and multimedia documents, scenery elements...All disciplines, whether intellectual, artistic or scientific, are represented in a comprehensive way. About 150 000 documents are added to the collections each year thanks to legal deposit, acquisitions and donations.

The above information is from the The Bibliothèque nationale de France's home page at http://www.bnf.fr/en/tools/a.welcome_to_the_bnf.html.

The photo is from Wikimedia via Flickr by Vincent Desjardins.

Libraries of the World: The Library of Birmingham

Photo taken by Bob Williams and is available to view at http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=117263&picture=birmingham-library.

The Library of Birmingham in Birmingham, England opened its doors in 2013. "Located at Centenary Square, the city’s most important public open space in the heart of Birmingham city centre’s Westside," the library houses over 100,00 books (Birmingham Library web site).

It has 10 floors and includes a number of features such as landscaped upper levels, an atrium, the "Harry Potter" rotunda, the "Willy Wonka" glass lift, a Shakespeare room, and a 300-seat theater. For more information about the library and photos of its interior, go to the Library of Birmingham's web site.

Libraries of the World: The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress is located in the Jefferson Building, one of three buildings that make up the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. It is the principal point for gaining access to the library's general collections of books and bound periodicals.

David S. Mao, the Acting Librarian of Congress, tells us that "The Library of Congress is the nation’s first established cultural institution and the largest library in the world, with millions of items including books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections."

"The Library provides Congress, the federal government and the American people with a rich, diverse and enduring source of knowledge to inform, inspire and engage them and support their intellectual and creative endeavors," Mao continues in his letter of welcome on the About the Library page of the Library of Congress web site.

The Library of Congress occupies three buildings on Capitol Hill. An agency of the legislative branch of the U.S. government, the Library includes several internal divisions (or service units), including the Office of the Librarian, Congressional Research Service, U.S. Copyright Office, Law Library of Congress, Library Services, and National and International Outreach.

Today's Library of Congress is an unparalleled world resource. The collection of more than 162 million items includes more than 38.6 million cataloged books and other print materials in 470 languages; more than 70 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America; and the world's largest collection of legal materials, films, maps, sheet music and sound recordings.

For more information about the Library of Congress which is located in Washington, D.C., visit the Library of Congress web site.

The information above was taken from the Library of Congress web site.

Unusual Sculpture Using Books

Slovak artist, Matej Krén, created this book sculpture, called Idiom, which can be found in the entrance of the Prague Municipal Library at Mariánské náměstí, near the Old Town Square. It appears that the books go on endlessly, but it's a visual illusion using mirrors.