Oh, the books you’ll read

Long Room, Trinity College Library

“The library card is a passport to wonders and miracles, glimpses into other lives, religions, experiences, the hopes and dreams and strivings of ALL human beings, and it is this passport that opens our eyes and hearts to the world beyond our front doors, that is one of our best hopes against tyranny, xenophobia, hopelessness, despair, anarchy, and ignorance.” Libba Bray, author

Address: Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

OBA Library of Amsterdam

“Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.” Walter Cronkite, American broadcast journalist

Address: Oosterdokskade 143 (east of Amsterdam central station). Has a café.

University of Zurich Law Library

“When in doubt, go to the library.” J.K. Rowling, author

Address: Rämistrasse 74. Has a café.

Helsinki Central Library Oodi

“I have found the most valuable thing in my wallet is my library card.” Laura Bush, Librarian and wife of President George W. Bush

Address: Töölölahdenkatu 4 (across from the Musikhuset). Has a restaurant, Fazer Food & Co.

Rijksmuseum Research Library

“People can lose their lives in libraries. They ought to be warned.” Saul Bellow, author

Address: Rijksmuseum. Museumstraat 1. There’s a café in the Atrium called simply, The Café, and three espresso bars.

Stuttgart Stadtbibliothek

“I’ve always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of a library.” Jose Luis Borges, Argentinian writer and poet

Address: Mäilander Platz 1. Has a café, LesBar Café.

François Mitterrand Library

“The only thing you need to know is how to get to the library.” Albert Einstein
Address: Quai François Mauriac. Has a restaurant.

Prunksaal or State Library of the Austrian National Library

“I had found my religion; nothing seemed more important to me than a book. I saw the library as a temple.” Jean Paul Sartre

Address: Josephplatz 1, Vienna

Library of the Marquis of Cerralbo

“To add a library to a house is to give that house a soul.” Cicero

Address: Cerralbo Museum, Calle de Ventura Rodriquez, 17 Madrid, Spain

National Library of Latvia

“Reading brings us unknown friends.” Honoré Balzac

Address: Mūkusalas iela 3, Zemgales priekspilsēta, Riga, Latvia

Royal Portuguese Reading Room

“I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library three times a week for 10 years.” Ray Bradbury

Rua Luis de Camoes, 30 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

National Library of Kosovo

“I always tell people that I became a writer not because I went to school but because my mother took me to the library. I wanted to become a writer so I could see my name in the card catalog. Sandra Cisneros

Beside the University of Pristina, Pristina, Kosovo

This post was originally published on: August 16, 2020

Last Updated: July 29, 2024

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