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The children's room at a NYPL branch library.
libraries

Growing Up in a Library Is Exactly As Magical As You'd Imagine

Ronald Clark and his daughter spent years living in one of New York City's branch libraries.
Sarah Laskow December 5, 2016
While not a real psychological illness, book collectors and bibliophiles described "bibliomania" as a medical condition.
libraries

Bibliomania, the Dark Desire For Books That Infected Europe in the 1800s

Book lovers and collectors feared becoming a victim of the pseudo-illness.
Lauren Young December 2, 2016
Corpus Hermeticum: first edition, by Marsilio Ficino, 1471 CE, at the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, Amsterdam.
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica (Ritman Library)

This impressive collection of rare books on ancient mysticism inspired author Dan Brown.
Manchester, England

Portico Library and Gallery

A 19th-century time capsule of travel, fiction, and historic texts still available to the public.
"Other Arts Follow" (Agricultural panel)
Ames, Iowa

Grant Wood Murals

The “American Gothic" artist's largest works hang in an Iowa State University library.
Scribes often penned dramatic curses at the beginning or end of books in the Middle Ages.
libraries

Protect Your Library the Medieval Way, With Horrifying Book Curses

Medieval scribes protected their work by threatening death—or worse.
Sarah Laskow November 9, 2016
The back bedroom.
New York, New York

Secret Apartment in the Fort Washington Library

This abandoned caretaker's apartment is one of 13 left in the New York Public Library system.
On the third floor of the Fort Washington Library.
abandoned

Inside the New York Public Library's Last, Secret Apartments

There are just 13 left.
Sarah Laskow October 7, 2016
Amelia S. Givin Free Library Front
Mount Holly Springs, Pennsylvania

Amelia S. Givin Public Library

This stately 19th century library pushed architectural boundaries at a time when the public library movement was just taking off.
A sampling of the material shown to visitors on a regular basis.
San Francisco, California

Letterform Archive

A library and museum dedicated to typography.
The Santa Claus schoolhouse.
libraries

9 Bizarre Schools That We Promise Actually Exist

School is in session for gladiators, dead bodies, and Santas.
Oliver Hong September 8, 2016
Exterior of the Rossend Arús Masonic Library.
Barcelona, Spain

Rossend Arús Masonic Library

A once-secret library of Freemason history in Catalonia.
Duke Humfrey's Library reading room, the oldest at Oxford.
libraries

Get Lost in the Stacks of These 10 Beautiful University Libraries

These stunning historic libraries will vanquish any academic dread.
Molly McBride Jacobson August 29, 2016
libraries

The Fierce, Forgotten Library Wars of the Ancient World

The dark trade of collecting books used to get really messy.
Lauren Young August 26, 2016
libraries

The New York Public Library is Moving 1.5 Million Books to an Underground Lair

The books will live highly organized lives underneath Bryant Park.
Sarah Laskow August 17, 2016
Beauvoir
Biloxi, Mississippi

The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library

A historic Civil War estate-turned-museum looks back on the Confederate States of America.
libraries

The Strange Affliction of 'Library Anxiety' and What Librarians Do to Help

It's a real phenomenon, and Ivy League librarians are fighting it.
Ella Morton August 4, 2016
"Peter Pan"
Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania

Phoebe's Little Wax Works

Intricate storybook scenes are tucked inside these shadow boxes, which are tucked inside a library in the Pocono Mountains.