A library is not just a collection of books, but also the buildings that
house them. As varied and inventive as the volumes they hold, such
buildings can be much more than the dusty, dark wooden shelves found in
mystery stories or the catacombs of stacks in the basements of academia.
From the great dome of the Library of Congress, to the white façade of the
Seinäjoki Library in Finland, to the ancient ruins of the library of
Pergamum in modern Turkey, the architecture of a library is a symbol of its
time as well as of its builders’ wealth, culture, and learning.
Architectural historian James Campbell and photographer Will Pryce traveled
the globe together, visiting and documenting over eighty libraries that
exemplify the many different approaches to thinking about and designing
libraries. The result of their travels, *The Library: A World History* is
one of the first books to tell the story of library architecture around the
world and through time in a single volume, from ancient Mesopotamia to
modern China and from the beginnings of writing to the present day. As
these beautiful and striking photos reveal, each age and culture has
reinvented the library, molding it to reflect their priorities and
preoccupations— and in turn mirroring the history of civilization itself.
Campbell’s authoritative yet readable text recounts the history of these
libraries, while Pryce’s stunning photographs vividly capture each
building’s structure and atmosphere.
Together, Campbell and Pryce have produced a landmark book—the definitive
photographic history of the library and one that will be essential for the
home libraries of book lovers and architecture devotees alike.
