Unusual buildings of the libraries of the world. Libraries - phone booths, Berlin, Germany

Modern libraries are distinguished not only by new technologies, but also by very non-standard solutions in the field of architecture and design. We will introduce you to the ten most unusual libraries in the world that captivate readers' hearts.

Kansas City Public Library, USA

In 2004, the Kansas City Public Library was moved to the vacant old First National Bank building. Two years after the library moved to a new location, a parking lot was built nearby, violating the architectural appearance of the building. To obscure the view of the parking lot, the decision was made to build a wall in the form of a giant bookshelf.

The height of each "book" is 8 meters, the width is 2 meters. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, The Lord of the Rings by John R. R. Tolkien, The Invisible Man by HG Wells, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and other outstanding works of classics of world literature, selected by the results of a poll among readers of the Kansas City Library. The interior design of the library is made in the banking style as a tribute to the historical past of the building.

Pargue Espana Library, Colombia

The Colombian city of Medellin has gained infamy over the last century as the capital of cocaine and a nesting spot for the South American cartels. To improve the reputation of the small homeland of Pablo Escobar, the Colombian authorities initiated a number of projects in Medellin aimed at the cultural revival of the city.

One such project is the Pargue Espana library, built in 2007 by Giancarlo Mazanti. Thanks to its unusual design, from a distance, the new library of Medellin resembles huge rocks. Inside these polyhedral rocks there is a cultural center, numerous reading rooms, modern computer classes. To carry out the construction of the library, a shantytown on the slopes of the mountain near Medellin was demolished, and now, instead of ugly crooked favelas, three granites of science rise above the city.

Louis Nyuser Library, France

The very first inhabited sculpture in the world is the building of ... a library! Built in 2002 in Nice by architects Yves Bayard and Francis Chapu, the library head instantly became one of the symbols of the famous French resort town. Access to the "brain" of an ordinary reader or a tourist is ordered - only the administrative departments of the Louis Nyuser library work in the statue. The library fund and reading rooms are located in a more traditional building next door.

Sandro Penna Library, Italy

“A UFO flew to us!” is the first thought that a tourist in Perugia may have when he sees the Sandro Penna Library in front of him. The library building is made in the form of a flying saucer with transparent pink walls.

The futuristic interior, the clever mixture of natural and artificial lighting, the soundproofing of the reading rooms, and the 24-hour library work all attract readers of all ages. Not without the help of its unique design, the pink shuttle lures visitors, inviting them to take a flight into the wonderful world of books.

Delft University of Technology Library, The Netherlands

Delft University is one of the largest technical universities in Europe and has always kept pace with the times. A leading university has a leading library, and in 1997 a new library building was built. The “dugout library” blends in perfectly with the surrounding landscape; on its roof and walls, camouflaged under a steep earthen hill, students rest after intense classes.

Inside the library are a book depository, reading rooms, a university press, a bookbinding department and a bookstore. The interior design of the library is reminiscent of a bunker built to shelter from air attacks.

Geisel Library, USA

Another unique university library is the Geisel Library at the University of California at San Diego, named after the writer and philanthropist Theodor Seuss Geisel, who made a significant contribution to the formation of its collections. The "Tree of Knowledge" was erected in the 70s of the last century. The Geisel Library does not have a third floor as it has been reserved for an emergency exit. At the entrance to the building, there is a colorful installation that reads: "Read, write, think, dream", as if preparing the reader for the journey through the endless tree of knowledge.

Bishan Public Library, Singapore

Singapore has not bypassed innovations either. Designed by LOOKArchitects, the Bishan Public Library is one of Singapore's newest architectural landmarks. The main feature of the library is specially designated soundproof rooms for discussing books read.

The "Thought Rooms" are finished with bright glass of all colors of the rainbow, creating a mood and a comfortable environment. The process of issuing books is fully automated, the reader receives his order in a maximum of five minutes.

Liyuan Library, China

Not only city libraries can amaze the imagination - an amazing “book temple” was built in the village of Huaizhou, similar to an old wooden fortress. Designed by Li Xiaodong, professor of architecture at Tsinghua University, the structure of the library consists of glass and 45,000 wooden twigs.

There are no tables or chairs inside the library - they are replaced by multi-level terraces with inserted bookshelves. There are mats on the shelves-terraces, on which you can sit down and read a book right on the spot. The library building is not electrified, so the lighting is exclusively natural - through a transparent roof covered with wooden twigs. Due to the lack of electricity, the library is only open until 4:30 pm.

Library of Alexandrina, or New Library of Alexandria, Egypt

On the site of the legendary Library of Alexandria, destroyed almost two thousand years ago, the Library of Alexandrina was erected. About 238 million dollars were allocated for the ambitious project (120 million - by the Egyptian government), and by 2002 the heiress of the library of Alexander the Great opened its doors to readers. The building is located inside the pool and is made in the form of a disk, personifying both the sunrise of knowledge and the ancient Egyptian sun god Ra.

Inside the "sun" there is a whole library universe: a giant fund of eight million books, numerous reading rooms (the main hall is located on 11 cascading levels and has an area of ​​70,000 square meters), a conference room, specialized libraries for the blind, adolescents and children, four galleries arts, planetarium, laboratory for the restoration of ancient manuscripts.

On the walls of the reading rooms lined with Aswan granite, graphic systems from 120 language systems of the world are carved. Librarians and readers protected this architectural masterpiece during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, lining up in a “human chain” around the library building and repelling the attacks of looting crowds.

The Library Resort, Thailand

In Thailand, on the Chaweng beach of Koh Samui, the library hotel The Library Resort was built. The hotel offers vacationers not only physical "relaxation", but also cultural - a library with a fairly solid fund is open near the pool (there are even books in Russian).

The hotel has large reading rooms with a modern, minimalist design, but guests are allowed to read books outside the pool as well. You can read not only paper books, but also electronic ones: in each room there are iMac computers with free Internet access. An ideal place for lovers of the printed word to relax!

Despite the spread of the Internet and the creation of more and more electronic libraries, there are still people who go to the library! Moreover, more and more library buildings are being built for these conservatives, some of which become real masterpieces of architecture. There are an incredible number of libraries in the world. Some are ancient castles with an outstanding history. Others are abandoned buildings. Still others are unusual modern buildings.

Many residents of the largest megacities of the Earth daily spend a huge amount of time underground, in the subway. And one of the best ways to kill time there is reading. For such underground book lovers in the New York subway at the 50th street station, there is a library where you can find a book to read on the way to work and home.

It is not for nothing that a large volume book is called a “lump”. Here in the Dutch town of Spijkenissse they plan to build a library in the form of a mountain, consisting of just such “blocks”.

This is what the inhabitants of Copenhagen call the new building of the Royal Library, a modern black building that stands out strongly from the baroque city buildings surrounding it.

Beer and books usually have little in common. Unless, of course, this is a book of jokes about beer. But in one of the districts of Magdeburg, a public street library was created, built from old beer boxes.

Luxurious modern libraries can be located not only in the center of megacities. For example, in the Colombian city of Medellin, the library is generally located in the jungle outside the city limits. She stands on a rock and looks like an abandoned city of some ancient civilization.

The project to create the Stockholm Public Library, designed by architect Olivier Charles, involves the creation of an "endless" wall of books. In the central atrium of this library there will be a huge wall with shelves full of books. Visitors will be able to walk through the galleries installed along this wall and take the necessary or favorite books. And to increase the effect of infinity, mirrors will be installed on the sides of this wall.

The smallest library in the world



British villagers Westbury sub-Mendip bought a red telephone booth from a telecom operator for a symbolic price of $ 1.65 and made it the smallest library in the world. The booth is equipped with shelves, which housed books on various topics - from culinary to classics and fairy tales. The library is open around the clock. The principle of its work is simple - visitors put the read book on the shelf and take a new one. For people suffering from insomnia, the booth is illuminated at night. In addition to books, the library can offer CDs and DVDs.

Open-air libraries in Vienna

Free literature in the open air: the so-called "open bookcase" was installed in the Austrian capital. Now each reader can take any book from the "cupboard" without annoying formalities, but on one condition - in return he must leave some literature from his personal collection.

The author of such an unusual project is a native of Vienna - an artist Frank Gassner. Previously, similar "libraries" were installed in the German cities of Berlin, Bonn, Mainz, as well as in the Austrian Graz. "The whole open space in Vienna is mostly filled with all sorts of commercial nonsense," Gassner said during the opening of the "bookcase." According to him, the project is a kind of response to such "urban nonsense."

The "cupboard" is located right on the sidewalk and is available 24 hours a day, it has three large shelves that can hold about 240 books. Newly received copies will be marked with special labels, which will help the reader to better navigate when choosing a work. In order to rid the "library" of any frivolous books from the very beginning, one "who wished to remain anonymous" organization donated a very impressive collection, which included both "Introduction to Surfing" and "Ecological Balance Austria".

To protect against adverse weather, the organizers took care not only of the sloping design of the "cabinet", but also of two glass doors. Officially, this unusual library will work until June 11 this year.

Gradually, electronic versions of books are replacing their paper predecessors from our lives. As a result, libraries take on the meaning of a resource on the web rather than a building with bookshelves. But there are places where traditional libraries are cherished and the country's leading architects fight for the right to design a library project.


library resort



Some people, even on vacation, cannot part with books. That's for them and created a hotel called The Library Resort, recently opened in Thailand. Its main feature is a decent library built right next to the pool. You lie on a sun lounger under palm trees, read a book, get up from time to time to take a new book or swim in warm water. The beauty!


Bookshelf

The Kansas Public Library is unlikely to be confused with a multi-level parking lot or a giant kebab shop. After all, the facade of this building perfectly illustrates its contents - it is made in the form of a shelf full of books.








shell library



But the National Library of Kazakhstan, which is currently under construction in the capital of this state - Astana, looks more like a flying saucer or a shell of some sea mollusk. The choice of the shape of the building, of course, is not accidental. Indeed, in this version, the sun will be able to illuminate the premises inside the library as long and brightly as possible.

Temple of the Book. Unusual libraries of the world.

Figwam

In Holland, in general, apparently, unusual libraries are very fond of. Let me introduce one more of them. It is located in the city of Delft, and no longer looks like a mountain, like a library from Spijkenissse, but like a figwam beloved by the characters of the cartoon "Three from Prostokvashino".






Rhombicuboctahedron



The National Library of Belarus, located at the entrance to Minsk, has already become one of the main attractions of the city during its construction. The building is a twenty-story rhombicuboctahedron 72.6 meters high and weighing 115,000 tons. Every day, from the onset of darkness until 24.00, the building is illuminated, changing color and image every second.


Bishan Public Library



Singapore is home to the Bishan Public Library. The library looks stylish and modern not only from the outside, but also from the inside. There are specially designated places for discussing thoughts about a particular book read. These rooms are finished with colorful bright colored glass, which create a pleasant atmosphere and make the interior decoration glow with all the colors of the rainbow. The roof is also glass, which increases the flow of light into the building and illuminates it from the inside.


New National Library of the Czech Republic



The library is due to open in 2011 and will be one of the most modern libraries in the world. The architectural ensemble of this building consists of three objects of such a shape that allows minimizing the volume and increasing the view of the trees surrounding the building.


Modern Library of Alexandria in Egypt



A delightful architectural complex, which was erected on the exact site of the famous ancient library in the city of Alexandria, is instantly amazing! A 7-storey building in the form of a solar disk “rises” from the fresh water pool (3 floors above and 4 underground). The building is located in such a way that it is directly opposite the sun rising from the Mediterranean Sea. As conceived by the architect, the building was supposed to symbolize the rising of the Sun of Knowledge.

University Library Duisburg-Essen (Duisburg-Essen)

Instead of the biosphere, the bibliosphere



Round library. On the territory of the university in Duisburg-Essen (Germany), the construction of a library designed in accordance with the latest trends in eco-architecture has been completed: energy-saving technologies, solar panels and a water purification system.

"Glass" library from Davis Brody Bond Aedas in Washington DC



The Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Library, built by the American architectural studio Davis Brody Bond Aedas along Rhode Island Avenue in Washington, D.C., on a triangular site near the Howard University building, is designed to become a new the area and a model of sustainable building. The building area was 22,800 sq.m., and the construction budget was 12 million US dollars.



The new building consists of three levels, one of which is underground. The central vestibule provides access to all other rooms. In the underground level there is a multi-purpose auditorium, designed for 100 people. On the first floor of the building there was a children's library and public meeting rooms, as well as a staff area. The top floor is dedicated to the main part of the library, including reference books, periodicals and youth literature. Here visitors will have access to online catalogs with access to a library of electronic resources. Also, the room includes separate offices and conference rooms.



The library building is equipped with systems for moving air, controlling and managing sunlight and daylight, as well as extensive use of recycled and renewable materials. Corrugated aluminum screens were used to finish the facades on the south side, which are located at a short distance from the glazing and provide the degree of shading of the upper level necessary for the library.

This "veil" protects the books from the harmful effects of sunlight. At the same time, continuous glazing of the rest of the façade reduces the cost of artificial lighting and electricity costs, providing the reading rooms with a sufficient amount of daylight.

rainbow in the library



Coming to the library, we often feel sadness, and we become uncomfortable. After all, you know that before you find the right book, you will be stuck in the building for an hour, or even more. Why not make everything much easier?

Some books are often used, but the library is a public place, so the books get old. The paint is peeling off them, sometimes even the title is impossible to read due to its absence on the cover. Even having stumbled upon the right section where the book should be, you have to spend time looking for it.

And to determine whether this is the book we are looking for or not is sometimes difficult. Designer Valeri Madill offers the simplest way to make life easier for us. It is necessary to hang labels of different colors on all books, and these labels will correspond to a certain topic. Only codes and ciphers will be written on the labels, and, turning the cover of the book, we will see its full description and decoding. Guessing what the codes mean is easy.

And yet, no matter how information technologies are developed in our time, reading paper books does not lose its popularity. After all, what could be better than the smell of a new book, magazine or newspaper? Now you can buy any book, so we go to the library less and less, but some still do not mind sitting in the reading room for a couple of interesting books or magazines. Many students often use the library for study. To date, libraries are being computerized, and the system of their work is expanding and simplifying, which is undoubtedly an advantage for modern society.
Of course, it is the books that make these libraries so special, but many of them are real works of art and landmarks of cities and universities in their own right.
Admire these photos of the most unusual and beautiful libraries in the world.
These are the most beautiful libraries in the world, but there are many more of them, and they all deserve special attention. These temples of knowledge, in addition to books and other printed publications, also boast the most incredible architecture. These centers of knowledge and education, both historical and modern, also convey the history and culture of different eras. In some of these libraries, it is even difficult to concentrate on reading - the walls surrounding you are too beautiful, and the eye strives to slip away from the pages of the book you are reading to admire them.

Central Library in Vancouver

Royal Black Diamond Library in Copenhagen

Library of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Free University of Berlin

Victoria State Library Reading Room, Melbourne, Austria

Delft University of Technology Library, South Holland, The Netherlands

Built in 1997, the library was designed by Mecanoo architectural bureau. It is located outside the courtyard of the university. The roof of the library is covered with grass, which serves as a natural insulating material. The structure rises from the ground on one side, so that you can climb the building itself. The building is topped with a steel cone, which gives it a unique shape.

Stockholm Public Library

The library building in Stockholm was designed by architect Gunnar Asplund. The construction of the library began in 1924 but was completed in 1928. The building of the public library is the most famous in Stockholm. Here, for the first time, the principle of open shelves was applied, that is, the visitor can take books from the shelves himself, without the help of employees. In 2006, it was decided to expand the library building. This was done by a German architect.

Royal Reading Room, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Real Gabinete Portugues de Leitura, Rio de Janeiro)

The library building was built in 1837. The builders were a group of immigrants from Portugal. Then it was the first institution that was built for the development of Portuguese culture in the country. The design of the building was developed by the architect Rafael de Silva. The style of the library has elements of Gothic and Renaissance. The library offers visitors about 350,000 books and manuscripts. In addition to books, the library has a collection of paintings.

Memorial Library, Britain

Astronomical Library of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands

Rijksmuseum Reading Room, Amsterdam

A special library in the city of Amsterdam, which allows visitors not only to reread information from books, but also to view engravings from the museum's collection. The library makes it possible to find the necessary information from the rarest and oldest examples of literature and science of mankind. To view the information, the visitor must be over 16 years old. The library has an employee who helps to look for information.

Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland

The library was built in the year the college opened (1592) and is the oldest library in Ireland. To date, the library has about 5,000 various books, journals and manuscripts. Here you can find a huge number of different collections, the most famous of which, the Ussher Collection, was opened back in 1661. Hundreds of tourists visit it every year to see unique samples of science.

Canadian Library of Parliament

The Parliamentary Library is the most famous library in Canada. The most popular and oldest part of the library is the back, which has remained untouched throughout the history of the library. Her other buildings were renovated after a fire in 1916. Despite frequent repairs and rebuilding, some elements of the decor still remain authentic. The building design was created by architects Thomas Fuller and Hilleon Jones.

Strahov Monastery Library, Prague

The Strahov Monastery is not only a place of pilgrimage, but also the territory where one of the most famous libraries in the world is located. The library at the monastery has a collection of books, which is visited by hundreds of tourists a year (more than 18 thousand spiritual books and 42 thousand scientific and philosophical volumes). Books are placed in two halls: spiritual and philosophical. The spiritual hall was built in 1679, and the philosophical one almost a century later (in 1782).

Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington Reading Room

This library is the main library of the University of Washington and the most recognizable building in the United States. The library was named after the president of the university, who retired in 1926. In the same year, the first floor of the building was also built, although the construction was completed only in 1933. The library contains about 6 million different books. The library also boasts a huge collection of children's literature.

Admont Abbey Library, Austria

The library at Admont Abbey was built in 1776. The architect who designed the building was Joseph Huier. The library, which is 70 meters long and 14 meters wide, is the largest library at the monastery. The library collection includes about 70,000 volumes. The interior of the library is decorated with frescoes by the famous artist Bartolomeo Altomonte and sculptures by Josef Stammel. In addition to books, there are also 1400 manuscripts.

Iowa State Capitol Law Library

The Iowa Library building was built between 1871 and 1886. The library offers a beautiful panoramic view of the city. In addition, on the territory of the library you can see a variety of monuments and memorials. The building has a rectangular shape, high windows and ceilings. The style of its structure is traditional for the 19th century. The interior is not inferior to the beauty of the exterior design of the building. The building is decorated with the famous Abraham Lincoln quote.

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto

The library in the city of Toronto is the only library in the world where the rarest books and manuscripts are collected. In addition, the library building is also the repository of the archives of the University of Toronto. The library's manuscripts include Shakespeare's original manuscripts as well as Darwin's trial notes. The most important collection is the Robert S. Kenny Collection, which includes documents on labor and radical movements in the country.

George Peabody Library, Baltimore

The George Peabody Library, formerly known as the Peabody Institute Library, is located on one of the university's campuses. The library was created by George Peabody to store all the necessary documents and materials. It was for this purpose that Peabody himself financed its construction. The Institute itself was created to be the cultural center of Baltimore. The institute was opened in 1866 and the library in 1878.

Reading Room at the British Museum

The reading room of the British Museum is located in the Great Court Building, which was formerly part of the British Library. The library itself moved to a new location in 1997, but the reading room remained in its original form. When the reading room was part of the library, only registered users had access here, but today any researchers can use its information. Since 2006, the British Museum has been offering visitors a variety of temporary exhibitions in the hall. Many films were shot in the museum building and in the hall.

Abbey Library of St. Gallen, Switzerland

The Abbey Library of St. Gallen was opened by the founder of the abbey. The library collection is one of the oldest in Europe. In addition, this is the very first monastic collection in the world. The library contains about 2000 manuscripts, which are both printed and early printed books. Most of the books are available to all visitors, but many copies can only be read in the reading room. The reading room itself was created in the Rococo style.

Handlingenkamer, Netherlands

The library in the Netherlands includes the manuscripts of all the transcripts before 1970, which were recorded verbatim during the meetings and debates of Parliament. Since the library building was built in the 19th century, when there was no electricity yet, the roof of the building was completely made of glass. These precautions were necessary for the safety of more than 100,000 volumes of transcripts. Even though the library has 4 floors, the light from the roof comes everywhere.

Library of San Lorenzo, Spain

The smell of old books, the rustle of turning pages, the stern glances of elderly employees in glasses and with letters on their heads - all this arises in the mind at the word "library". Not every Russian will remember where his library card is, and some even remember when they held a paper book in their hands. Meanwhile, librarianship not only lives, but also develops, sometimes taking on the most amazing formats. On the eve of the all-Russian action "Library Night" we decided to talk about the three most unusual and "advanced" libraries in our country.

Comic book library in St. Petersburg: from "Funny Pictures" to a manga club

For five years now, the Comic Book Library has been operating in St. Petersburg - the largest project in Russia, where comics and graphic novels from America, Europe, Asia and, of course, from all over Russia are collected in a separate room.

Yulia Tarasyuk, project curator, said that the idea of ​​the library, which opened in December 2012, was borrowed from colleagues in Moscow.

"First, the Center for Comics and Visual Culture opened in Moscow, Dmitry Yakovlev from the Bumkniga graphic novel publishing house, as well as the organizer of the Boomfest festival, was impressed by the activities of colleagues in Moscow, plus he visited comic festivals and comic libraries in other countries. He started looking for a state library that would take the project under its wing," says Tarasyuk.

As a result, the Lermontov Library agreed to open the Library of Comics as a project based on its Izmailovskaya library.

Initially, the fund was collected from friends and acquaintances - fans and collectors of comics. Comic publishers helped: "Bumkniga", "SPB comics", "Live Bubbles". For example, most of the collection of comics in French was provided by the French Institute in St. Petersburg, consulates helped - they donated comics from their countries. Readers gave a lot.

Now the library fund has about 4 thousand copies.

"We have a good selection of rare comics: there are old editions of Veselyoye Kartinok - this is one of the magazines in which children's comics were drawn in the USSR. There are comics from the early 1990s - by the KOM and Mukha studios, some of which are now impossible to find in open access, only for collectors," Tarasyuk said.

However, comics are not only funny children's stories with pictures. Here you can find serious graphic novels, for example, the work of the famous American writer Neil Gaiman or the graphic novel "Persepolis" by the Iranian author Marjan Satrapi about the Islamic Revolution and the war with Iraq, shown through the eyes of a child.

At the same time, the project works like a classic library: readers can take most of the copies home or sit in the reading room. The library is considered an adult, the main audience is students and youth. "I really like the variety of comics. I was there for the first time about a month ago, today I'm going again," 15-year-old Katya shared her impressions with TASS. She learned about the library from the VKontakte group.

However, Julia claims that high school students come quite rarely, most of the visitors are older. The readership is replenished by 50 or more new readers per month.

Georgiy, 19, comes here regularly, once every two weeks.

"I like it here because it's easy to find comics and other foreign books in the original language. In addition, my hobby is illustrative graphics and fine art in general, and there is a collection of Russian and English books and magazines on this subject, which I consider unique. Therefore, I come here often. At the moment, this is the only library I know of with such a wide selection of original comics and books," says Georgy.

The library also regularly hosts master classes and meetings with artists. For fans of certain genres, it has a manga club (club of Asian comics fans. - Approx. TASS) and a Superhero Club.

New Format Library

The Gogol Library in St. Petersburg traces its history back to 1918 and for many years was an ordinary central district library. However, in 2013, its concept has changed dramatically.

"Marina Borisovna Shvets, director of the centralized library system of the Krasnogvardeisky district, became the ideologist of all the changes. When she took this position, one of the libraries was under repair. Construction work had already been carried out, and the question arose of how to develop it further. An ambitious plan appeared to make something unusual from the district library," says the head of the library, Yuliya Martinkenaite.

The changes started from the interior. Shvets invited the young architectural bureau "Kidz", which developed a design project that combined classical forms and elements of Scandinavian design. Librarians also participated in the development. It turned out to be a very modern and at the same time comfortable space, every corner, even not very large, is used as efficiently as possible. A successful solution was mobile shelving with sofa niches that can be moved apart to free up space and hold an event.

The staff of the library was also recruited outside the box: the main requirement was not the experience of library work, but creativity and creativity. Therefore, almost every employee, in addition to the current work, oversees some interesting project.

Since its opening, the library has called itself "the third place". The concept was developed by urbanist Ray Oldenburg.

"Third place" - this is the place where a person comes, in addition to work or study and at home. As a rule, these are cafes, beauty salons, bars and restaurants, and we try to integrate the library into this list. Visiting the library has become something natural for the residents of the area," Martinkenaite says.

The room is divided into several zones: a reading room, a media library, a conference room, an art hall. Lectures, intellectual games and meetings with writers are often arranged here. Writer Linor Goralik and poetess Vera Polozkova came here. Book blogger Maria Pokusaeva will perform this weekend.

Despite the big changes, the library has not only not lost its former audience, but also attracted a new one.

“After we opened, it was interesting to see how the composition of the audience that comes to us has changed. shop," Martinkenaite says. "However, people come to us from other districts, or those who purposefully come to certain events."

The library is considered an adult one; here you can borrow books for the age category of 14 years and older; about 150 people visit it daily.

There are a lot of elderly people here.

"Just write it down - it's a wonderful library," a 60+ man shared his impressions, sitting at one of the tables near the window with newspapers.

According to Martinkenaite, grandparents come to the library not only to read, but also actively participate in the work of language clubs. On weekdays, clubs of English, German and French languages ​​​​work here, it is older people who are engaged in them.

Some visitors use the library as a co-working space and come to work or study.

"I learned about the library a long time ago from a friend, she told me that it is a good space for studying and working. I came here in April when I had to write a term paper, and I decided that this is a very comfortable place for this, because there is silence here, internet and a power outlet. At first I didn’t even intend to sign up, but now I take books here periodically. It’s also interesting that if you need to discuss a project with classmates, you can also come here - here the space is organized for this, "said the student Olga. However, she lives on the other side of the city.

According to one of the visitors, in a bright, cozy library no one will tell you "be quiet!", all the staff are very friendly and helpful, so this place is not perceived as a territory for issuing and accepting books, this is a full-fledged space where you want to linger, sit with a book or friends and just relax.

Living books and their stories

The international project "Living Library" appeared in 2000 in Denmark. Its purpose is to fight stereotypes. Instead of books in this library - people of different religions, nationalities, professions, social strata, hobbies, ready to tell about themselves to their "reader", who comes with his ideas and questions that concern him, and leaves with answers and a broader view of the people around him .

"The project came to Moscow in 2010, in 2011 the first Living Library was held at the Youth Library. I can't say that they were held on a permanent basis, but we held both large events and a series of meetings - weekly for a month, for example, small “readings” of five or six “books” were arranged in Ziferblat,” Lyubov Arkashina, one of the organizers of the Moscow project, told TASS.

As in any other library, in the "Living Library" the reader can choose a "book" to his liking using the catalog, which, in addition to short autobiographies, also contains the most important, burning questions.

“But reading living “books” is not a monologue, but a dialogue between a person who cannot imagine himself in the place of the interlocutor and has a preconceived notion of him, and a “book” that is ready to answer questions and help get rid of prejudice. Each “book” "has its own" cover "- a label that a member of the library has to carry through life: "drug addict", "homeless", "Caucasian". The reader behind this cover must see, hear and understand a person through a one-on-one conversation, "explains Arkashin.

The most inspiring "book" for Lyubov was the story of a girl who can only move around in a wheelchair.

"She studied at the university, attended sports matches, loved punk music and almost never missed the concerts of her favorite bands. For me, she was a real discovery and destroyed the stereotype that I had before I met her about how people who are chained to a wheelchair live" , - shares Love.

"Living Libraries" are held periodically in at least 30 cities not only in Russia, but also in the CIS countries - most often in St. Petersburg and Minsk. “At some point, with some organizers in the regions, we had the idea of ​​some kind of unification into a single network of living libraries, but it failed due to lack of time for the organizers,” the girl says and adds that the “Living Library” was not held in the capital for about two years now due to the busyness of the organizers, who organized meetings of "books" and "readers" solely on their own initiative. In the spring of 2018, meetings within the Living Library were held in Magnitogorsk.

Victoria Dubovskaya, Galina Poloskova

Libraries can be big or small, wheeled or not, boring or cool. In this article, we will cover all but the boring ones.

1 Beach Library

German Koprenas built a library right on the territory of one of the sandy beaches of the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Albena and supplied it with more than 2500 books in 10 languages.
Library guests are invited not only to borrow books for a while, but also to replenish the library themselves.

2. Library on the bus

One day, 11 years ago, a bus driver from Brazil, Antonio de Conceisan Ferreira, brought a box of books to work, which he handed out to the passengers, writing down their names.
Today, Antonio's bus is a library on wheels, on the bookshelf of which you can always find about 15 titles of books. The mobile library is designed to help pass the time on the road, as well as improve the level of culture of passengers.

3. Library in the mailbox

Now no one can say for sure who first came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a tiny library inside their own mailbox. We can only say with certainty that the people picked up the idea and now such bookshelves can be seen in almost every corner of the globe.

4. Library phone booth

When in Westbury-on-Mendip, a small town in the south of England, British Telecom decided to remove the last classic red telephone box, the inhabitants of the city organized an action to save the relic. They set up a small public library inside the booth. All books, dvds and cds that are now on the shelves of an unusual library are the personal property of the city residents.

5. Mule Library

In 2009, a local university set up a mobile library in the Trujillo mountains in Venezuela. Books for peasant children from remote villages are now brought by the biblio-mule.

6. Library-booth

In 2013, a futuristic mini-library adorned the streets of New York, the design of which delicately protects books and readers from prying eyes and harmful environmental influences. The design project for the library was developed by a Venezuelan firm in collaboration with the Architectural League of New York.

7. Open Library

In 2012, Italian artist Massimo Bartolini designed an open library project (literally open) called the Book Yard.
The Bartolini Library is a set of 12 cabinets installed on the grounds of St. Peter's Abbey.

8. "Book-like" library

This traditional library, housed in a purpose-built building in Kansas City, made our list of quirky libraries thanks to its book-themed façade.

9. Library tank

Argentine artist Raul Lemesoff has found his way to promote the world through literature. He built a mobile library in the shape of a tank. There are about 900 books on the outer walls of the tank. Raul tours the cities and villages of Argentina with his library, thus supporting public education and instilling pacifist ideas in his compatriots.

10. Moto Library

Antonio La Cava, a pensioner from Italy, who devoted 42 years of his life to teaching, decided to continue teaching children after retirement. In 2003, he bought a used motorcycle and converted it into a motorcycle library containing about 700 books.