Do you wonder what state libraries would be like with their enormous, and envious, collections of rare and historical books, manuscripts, and maps accessible mainly to incumbent presidents and prime ministers, kings and queens, parliamentarians and senators, and popes? Here's a virtual look at some of them. I couldn't get a handle on any of the British royal libraries.
President of India Pranab Mukherjee in the newly renovated
Rashtrapati Bhavan Library, New Delhi. © www.presidentofindia.gov.in
Rashtrapati Bhavan Library, New Delhi. © www.presidentofindia.gov.in
 |
| US President Barack Obama during an interview in the White House Library. © Pete Souza/www.whitehouse.gov |
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff with
Pope Francis in the Vatican Library.
© www.en.mercopress.com
Pope Francis in the Vatican Library.
© www.en.mercopress.com
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen visit the Parliamentary Library with Felipe Calderón, President of United Mexican States, and his wife Margarita Zavala,
in Ottawa.
© www.pm.gc.ca
in Ottawa.
© www.pm.gc.ca
Some pretty repositories there.
ReplyDeletePatti, I wonder how many heads of state and government and their families read anything from the libraries. I guess posing with dignitaries in the library makes a good picture.
Deletethe word library always fires me up, no matter how big or small.
ReplyDeleteSame here, Charles. I grew up reading books and comics from circulating libraries which, I think, is (or was) an Indian thing.
DeleteI'd love to be able to browse the shelves and see what the books actually are.
ReplyDeleteCol, I don't think we'd know where to start browsing. Some of the historical works in these libraries dating back decades and centuries are mind blowing.
DeleteI'd love to get lost in the Library of Congress. There are some beautiful and awe inspiring photos online. It's a mega-dome of books and other literary minutiae. The New York Public Library is pretty awe-inspiring too as is The Morgan Library. Now THERE'S a place I've always meant to get to and never have. Morgan collected just about anything and everything including original manuscripts and minutiae. There's a manuscript of Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL, written in his own hand. Only available to see at Christmas, I think. Can you imagine?
ReplyDeleteYvette, I regularly browse through the catalogues and photographic collections of the Library of Congress as well as other public libraries attached to universities and local state and city bodies. I discover something new every week. I haven't "visited" The Morgan Library. It'd be interesting to know how the library came into possession of Dickens' handwritten story. Displaying it around Christmas seems like an annual exposition.
DeletePrashant: The Canadian Parliamentary Library is a very impressive place. It is the successor to the original library which burned in a fire in 1915.
ReplyDeleteBill, it certainly looks very impressive. Are visitors allowed in the Canadian Parliamentary Library?
DeleteLovely libraries, Prashant. I wish I could visit all of them.
ReplyDeleteTracy, thank you. I can't imagine what treasures are stored in these and other government sponsored libraries.
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