Seems like no one visits libraries anymore. It’s such a shame, because it’s a place where you can literally surround yourself with knowledge, and what could be so bad about that? Sure, libraries have a bit of a “been there, done that” image, but they just need some new marketing and public relations people to get them back on the map (ironically, they actually are on most maps).
Bibliothèque Nationale de France – Salle Labrouste, Paris, 1868
Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, Paris, 1850
Grimm Zentrum Library, Berlin, 2009
Libraries are considered to be very solitary places and the best way to escape from pretty much everything. It’s with this idea that French photographer Thibaut Poirier made the series “Palaces of Self-Discovery”. He traveled across Europe and took pictures of some of the finest libraries he could find, both classical and modern.
Trinity College Library, Dublin, 1732
Biblioteca Casanatense, Rome, 1701
Stadtbibliothek, Stuttgart, 2011
He does this without reducing the uniqueness of each library. The vision and idea of the architect gets captured in the photographs perfectly. And next time you think that libraries are Fortresses of Solitude, remember Superman also has one of those, so you should get one for yourself as well. You never know you turn out to be a Kryptonian child sent away from his dying planet to live on Earth.
Biblioteca Joanina, Coimbra, 1728
Biliothèque de la Sorbonne – Salle Jacqueline de Romilly, Paris, 1897
Bibliothèque de l’Hotel de Ville de Paris, Paris, 1890
