Which of these is Western Europe's most beautiful old library?

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The Playfair Library is used for lectures, conferences, exams, corporate events and even weddings.

No odd weddings allowed?

Saint-Florian's on the list Dr. C.

I know! I'm lobbying for it! Vote Florian!

Also that diaoporama isn't exhaustive, apparently. The article it's linked to has photos of the Escurial and Duke Humphrey's Room and references to several others.

yale university's sterling memorial library is one of my favorites. utterly amazing:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Cf_V01KEqGM/R2CxHNznJwI/AAAAAAAAA10/6NW-ShgfbYM/SMLsmall.jpg

http://historicbuildingsct.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/sterling-memorial-library.jpg

http://www.yale.edu/res/slideshow/images/02_sterling.jpg

yale's rare books and manuscripts library is pretty cool, too. no windows to protect the contents

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yale_Beinecke_Library.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beinecke_Library_interior.JPG

hmm guess the images aren't showing up

it's called the beinecke library anyways

yale is in western europe now?

haha sorry i totally just realized the thread title like two seconds before you said that

but i'm still gonna post photos of the beinecke if they show up:

http://www.artic.edu/aic/libraries/research/specialcollections/oralhistories/images/bunshaftbeinecke.jpg

http://tarzanvsibm.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/beinecke2.jpg

http://www.som.com/resources/category/5/0/5/8/8/6/images/Yale-University-Beinecke-Rare-Book-and-Manuscript-Library2.jpg

guess i just thought it was a 'let's talk about cool libraries' thread w/o realizing it

I do really like the decadence of some of these, but Trinity superbly shows off the beauty of the books themselves, so I'm really tempted to go for that one. I shall have to drool over the pictures some more, I think.

I won't get bent out of shape by shout-outs to cool libraries anywhere but I really am most curious about old European ones. I wonder about old libraries in Eastern Europe. I bet Crakow or St. Petersburg or Budapest have some crazy bookeries too.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/32/47161094_8525dec893.jpg?v=0

Collegium Maius Library at Jagellonian University in Crakow.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/3008001862_5e3a9ae921.jpg?v=0

Old Library, Money Museum in Utrecht.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/111/368343286_1023757d8a.jpg?v=0

Library, Hofburg, Vienna.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2269/2564947214_43f0501c19.jpg?v=0

Library at Chatsworth.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3272/2904353922_43cf320e70.jpg?v=0

Fontainebleau

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/59/229551648_1de4be8ee7.jpg?v=0

Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana (Laurentian Library)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3414/3435121398_d843e5244a.jpg?v=0

La bibliothèque du Duc d'Aumale, Chantilly

http://www.curiousexpeditions.org/Biblioteca%20do%20Palacio%20e%20Convento%20de%20Mafra%20I.jpg

Biblioteca do Palacio e Convento de Mafra I, Lisbon

http://www.curiousexpeditions.org/HANDELINGENKAMER-TWEEDE-KAM%20%28%29.jpg

Handelingenkamer Tweede der Staten, Den Haag

http://www.curiousexpeditions.org/Bibliothek.Admont_gesamt.jpg

Another one of Admont, all taken from this immense repository: http://curiousexpeditions.org/?p=78

http://www.curiousexpeditions.org/Biblioteca%20Geral%20da%20Universidade%20de%20Coimbra%20IV.jpg

Biblioteca Geral University of Coimbra

http://www.curiousexpeditions.org/kremsmuenster_60.jpg

Kremsmuenster Abbey Library

http://www.curiousexpeditions.org/Vatican.jpeg

Vatican Library

http://www.curiousexpeditions.org/riksadagen%201.jpg

Riksdagen Library, Stockholm

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1348/1303201691_e5cabf0a02_o.jpg

Strahov Monastery, Prague

http://www.curiousexpeditions.org/202146600_37b58ca97a.jpg

Klementium Library, Prague

i love the trinity college one, though it's far from my favorite here. i don't mind the familiarity, or maybe in fact the familiarity is what makes it?

my favorites on this thread: the Old Bodleian library, the klementium, the beinecke. some of the others are beautiful but i think my preference runs towards ones which hint at a certain darkness, maybe.

The Hague and Stockholm are wowing my eyes out! Both so impossibly airy....

Czech National = Clementium, btw.

Voted for Trinity, simply and understating.

Also, I’m a little dubious of the list as there are no libraries in Liverpool.

Oddly, and I don't know how much this points out the deficiencies in my googling ability, the lack of interest (for at least photographing them) amongst Germanics for old royal libraries (or their having been destroyed) or the lack of interest or dedication in royal or aristocratic families in Germany but I found precious little in the way of princely or royal libraries.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I visited the Sainte-Geneviève Library and it was very very beautiful (I took pics and may post a few here eventually). It had great iron work in the ceiling. I also spent time in the Mazarine Library of the Institut de France, the library of the Sorbonne, and of the Banque de France. I missed my chance to visit the BNF's Richelieu library (also on this poll), but I will going there in the near future. These libraries are great and I'd like to find an excuse to work in them but it's kinda silly also as they have very few books, and so very very few on the topics I work on. But I could bring my laptop and work there for a day just to soak in the awesomeness, like Marx in the British Library (my beard is getting to Marx length at this point, so it would work).