While some countries are burning or closing down libraries, there are other places where public libraries meet outstanding architecture and multi-purpose functionality, and are highly valued.
Friday Fun: Public Libraries
While some countries are burning or closing down libraries, there are other places where public libraries meet outstanding architecture and multi-purpose functionality, and are highly valued.
findingtimetowrite 
What a great post for sore eyes this morning! THANK you. Hope to speak soon.
Whatever the building it’s the staff that make libraries. Our local libraries do all sorts of things for all ages, but still the council is cutting opening hours and shuffling staff around.
Not sure which of those buildings I like.
I know what you mean. I suppose I’m lucky to still have a local library, but the service is really struggling.
Wow! Finland and China seem to be bucking the trend. I hope they put as much energy into staffing.
I think some countries certainly value their libraries more. When I lived in France in quite a rural area, yet there were still libraries (with staff, no checkout machines) in every village.
Ah. Our experience of rural France was different. Poorly stocked and indifferent collections of books and all rather out-of-date.
I really like the planting with the Maryland library. I hope the finished building is as planned!
Yes, of course, the ideal plan seldom comes out looking exactly the same in real life, and planting can take a while to grow and become beautiful.
Gorgeous. Our local council is relocating the central branch and has asked for participants to take a survey so they can incorporate user experience more fully into the new setup, which I think is a lovely idea. Architecturally speaking it’s nowhere near as exalted as this (original site is a multi-storey Brutalist building; new site is an abandoned Topshop on the High Street), but I’m just glad they’re not getting rid of it.
Although i only live in a small market town, we are lucky to still have a library, and I’ve seen Elly Griffiths give a fabulous talk there. They hold all sorts of events for children and adults, which I think helps.
What a lift to know that there are places that value libraries and all that they offer, Marina Sofia. And these libraries are absolutely lovely. I could see myself spending hours in any of them. Where I live, the library is active and there are local events, which is nice. It’s visually appealing, too, but not anything like these!
The Maryland building looks amazing (and hopefully will be), I can’t imagine one of these beautiful buildings not employing responsible staff, what an amazing place to work!
Thanks for featuring public libraries! I’ll share this in my monthly #LoveYourLibrary post. I’m from Maryland and have a friend who lives in Columbia, so I will check up on construction news with her and be sure to visit as soon as I can. I love that green roof and hope the builders will deliver it.
Those are stunning. There’s something really appealing about the Helsinki one – it has a bit of a mid-century vibe like the libraries I visited as a child!
Always fun to visit public libraries. wow, I had not yet seen pictures of the upcoming one in Columbia, Maryland. Fabulous