Super-Cool University Libraries

Yeah, I admit it, I’m a bit of a library geek. I like libraries, and I like how different they can be – from musty and full of historic character, to bright, modern and packing more technology than Steve Jobs’ Apple-powered super yacht.

My own student years were largely spent in Oxford’s Radcliffe Camera library (pictured), and later London’s British Library, which are both pretty awesome.

However, there are lots of other amazing university libraries around the world – here are some of the coolest/greenest/curliest I’ve found…

1. Vienna University of Economics & Business, Austria

If buildings could make a noise, this one would definitely go ‘whoosh’.

2. University of Aberdeen, UK

Best described with the two words ‘curly wurly’. Which is all the more pleasing because that’s one of the phrases known for sounding particularly excellent in a Scottish accent (for those outside the UK: Aberdeen is in Scotland).

3. University of Indonesia, Indonesia

Very simple. It looks like a fort.

4. Warsaw University, Poland

A huge rooftop garden, open to the public, which even includes a waterfall.

5. Macquarie University, Australia

It’s all stripy! Plus eco-friendly – which means, amongst other things, collecting rainwater to use for toilet flushing. (Is that super-cool? Yeah, why not.)

6. Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, University of Chicago, US

All the high-tech design you could desire, complete with glass dome roof and robotic cranes to retrieve books.

What do you reckon? Would having a curly/fort-like/robotic university libraries make you more likely to hit the books?