Libraries

A gorgeous medieval library where the books are kept in chains.

Unchanged for centuries, this medieval library keeps its books in chains.

The second largest surviving chained library is housed in this 12th century church.

A three-shelf library serves as a memorial in the Jewish cemetery of Krems.

Five ancient libraries, little changed for centuries, preserve a medieval archive of Quranic lore and civic documents

A sprawling collection of books and manuscripts about ancient Greece that would have put their famed libraries to shame.

America's smallest town is run by its single citizen/mayor/librarian/bartender.

A unique collection of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and everything in-between.

This massive library holds what was once the largest book collection in the world.

This former prison now houses a lovely library devoted to Quebec's oft-maligned English-speaking history.

An extraordinary library and archive dedicated to the history of the Arctic and Antarctic poles.

A French library that makes sure its love of books is writ large... giant in fact.

Dating back almost 400 years, the oldest public collection library in the United Kingdom was once the study hall of Karl Marx.

An accidentally hidden library containing the ephemeral history of New York.

A free library to stumble across, one of many placed worldwide if you know where to look.

Community bookshelf of 25-foot-tall book spines.

While this is positively the smallest library in Canada, it aspires to be the smallest in the world.