After a Decade of Renovation, the National Library of France has Reopened

Last week we went to poke our heads inside the recently unveiled National Library of France, a 556 year-old collection in the heart of Paris that has been under wraps for a decade for renovation work. Take a quick tour with us below: In the early 2000s, the building had become too outdated for…

The Book Rescuers

I came upon a small collection of photos in the LIFE Archives that show the sheer awesomeness of librarians. Pictured in 1951 drying out state library books damaged by fighting the Lewis Cass State Office Building fire in Lansing, as you can see, it was quite the undertaking… The fire was started by a 19 year-old…

The Compendium of Awful Library Books, Made by Awesome Librarians

When we think of librarians, stereotypes have taught us to think of ladies wearing sinister pointy glasses who sit there and shush us when fits of uncontrollable giggles comes over oneself while reading up on the complete mind-numbing history of something or another. But today, I stumbled upon the secret world of the librarian in the…

An Epic Dinner at the Library

Make a toast to Tolstoy, order the chicken Kiev in honour Chekhov, let Stravinksy serenade you with every spoonful of caviar and Pushkin play host in his palatial library of gastronomic pleasures. For anyone who has a way with words or a weakness for a truly great story, it’s likely that the library is one of your…

The Miniature Library of Forgotten Curiosities

If you can’t have your own velvet-curtained library complete with dusty volumes, mysterious documents and antique treasures, how about a miniature one? On my internet travels today, I stumbled upon the Etsy boutique of L. Delaney, artist and maker of tiny things. The pièce de résistance is this incredible one of a kind 1 inch…

Just some 300 year-old Giant Books

No need for your reading glasses on this one, but perhaps some knowledge of 18th century Spanish might be useful. This is one of a collection of twelve giant books made in 1715 by a priest in New Spain (as in Spanish colonial Mexico), currently being preserved by the library of the National Autonomous University of…

The Travelling Library of Sketchbooks

“It’s like a food truck where you get sketch books instead of Tacos”. So here’s one of those projects that makes you wonder, how does something like this manage to exist? The Sketchbook Project is an innovative art project that pretty much allows anyone to participate in art and have their work seen by people all…

The Chained Books of Zutphen

A spot of ‘book p0rn’ for you on this fine Friday, which takes us to the 16th-century chained library of Zutphen, in the east of the Netherlands. Photos by Eric Wakkel No need for a library card here, the Zutphen hasn’t updated its system for more than 550 years! Each book is fitted with a metal…

The Secret Magic Library of Manhattan

Nestled in a hidden location in midtown Manhattan, the Counjuring Arts Research Center is ground zero for illusionists and historians alike. Bill Kalush, the center’s founder and director, explains how he built the collection piece-by-piece and shows us some of its highlights…. [vimeo http://vimeo.com/24630376] Film by Cool Hunting, subscribe here. ::: YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: . …