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Where are the world’s most historic public libraries? [infographic]

Where are the world’s most historic public libraries? [infographic]

Though common parlance would have you believe that all the world’s knowledge can be found online, there are still numerous sanctuaries where books are collected in glorious buildings just as they have been for centuries.

A library creates a place of wonder that cannot be replicated by keystrokes and search engines. The physical aura of a palimpsest of bound books has a certain majesty that a whirring hard drive simple does not create.

And while Project Guttenberg has made an effort to digitize public domain books for years, they still only have on the order of 57,000 books in their online collection. Compare that to the famous Tianyi Pavilion Library in Ningbo, China (opened in 1561) which holds over 300,000 books and historical records with over 80,000 very rare tomes. You can imagine that there is a great deal still to be found by looking in a book.

For more gazing into the greatest public libraries in the world, Oldest has published a guide on the most invaluable libraries in the world. Spanning the globe, these amazing buildings date back as far as the 6th century and hold millions of volumes that otherwise might have been lost to the world. Take a look at these wondrous places.

historic libraries

 

Stephen

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Posted on: November 30, 2018, 6:16 am Category: Uncategorized

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