16 | FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION

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About a decade ago, libraries across the
world faced a predicament. Their vital
functions — to supply books and access
to information for the public — were be-
ing replaced by Amazon, e-books and
public Wi-Fi.
To fight for their survival, said Loida
Garcia-Febo, president of the American
Library Association, libraries tried to
determine what other role they could
play. “They invented these amazing new
initiatives that are finally launching
now,” she said.
Libraries are certainly having a mo-
ment. In the past few years dozens of
new high-profile libraries have opened
across the world. And they certainly
don’t resemble the book-depot vision of
libraries from the past.
To attract visitors from home and
abroad, many libraries have advanced,
even quirky amenities. They have
rooftop gardens, public parks, verandas,
play spaces, teen centers, movie the-
aters, gaming rooms, art galleries,
restaurants and more.
The new library in Aarhus, Denmark,
has a large gong that sounds whenever
a mother in a nearby hospital gives
birth.
Ms. Garcia-Febo said multiple librar-
ies offer work space for growing num-
bers of entrepreneurs. These aren’t just
alternatives to coffee shops: They have
fancy meeting rooms where people can
meet with clients, business librarians
who can help them solve financial chal-
lenges and classes to teach vital skills.
With no cost, it’s a much cheaper option
than spending hundreds of dollars for a
desk at a shared work space.
Libraries are supplying the public
with other features they may not have at
home. Thirty years ago that was books.
Now it’s expensive new technology like
3D printers, laser cutters and broad-
casting studios for podcasts and movies.
Visitors are going to libraries to try be-
fore they buy.
Other people just want to play with
something that they may not ever be
able to afford.
Meeting diverse needs requires a so-
phisticated building, and many libraries
are employing the world’s best archi-
tects to create showstopping designs.
They are transforming skylines, going
viral on social media and attracting
tourists from all over the world.
Here’s a look at some of the world’s
newest and most creative libraries.

HELSINKI CENTRAL LIBRARY OODI
Helsinki

On Dec. 6, 2018, Finland celebrated its
101st anniversary of independence from
Russia. One day earlier, the Finns had
received an anniversary present: Oodi,
a new library opposite the Finnish Par-
liament.
The library’s facade is made almost
entirely of Finland spruce. It has steel
and glass structures mixed in, creating a
soft, inviting look. Only a third of the
185,000-square-foot space is allocated to
books (which are transported by ro-
bots); the rest is community space de-
signed for meeting and doing.
At the “book heaven” on the top floor,
visitors sprawl out among potted trees
and on specially commissioned wool
carpets. An urban workshop on the sec-
ond floor has sewing machines, scan-
ners and printers as well as laser cutters
and soldering stations, with spaces allo-
cated to sewing, making badges and
even playing the drums.
There is room for pop-up markets. En-
trepreneurs can rent out work stations
to meet with colleagues or clients. There
are pop-up information desks where or-
ganizations can inform visitors about

their work.

In March, Oodi welcomed its one mil-

lionth visitor. “We have tourists from all

over the world visiting,” said Anna-Ma-

ria Soininvaara, the library’s director.

MUSEUM OF LITERATURE

Dublin

On St. Stephen’s Green, a park in Dublin,

there are three grand Georgian build-

ings, one of which was built by the archi-

tect Richard Cassels (also known as

Richard Castle) in the 1700s. These

structures were previously the original

home of the University College Dublin,

where many of Ireland’s most famous

writers studied. On Sept. 20, they will

open to the public, as home to the Mu-

seum of Literature Ireland, or MoLI.

Visitors will be able to see the old

physics theater where James Joyce set a

chapter of “A Portrait of the Artist as a

Young Man,” and the original print of

“Ulysses,” called Copy No. 1. The bed-

room of poet Gerard Manley Hopkins is

still intact and will be available for view-

ing.

The museum will also have a Joyce

Research library, a reading room and

seats for working in the garden. “We are

re-landscaping what we think is the only

publicly accessible historic house gar-

den in Dublin,” said Simon O’Connor, the

museum’s director. “We take that re-

sponsibility seriously.”

He’s also excited about the museum’s

radio station, which will broadcast 24

hours a day, seven days a week.

CALGARY NEW CENTRAL LIBRARY

Calgary, Alberta

Calgary’s New Central Library has a

train running through it, as the site was

designed to accommodate an active

light rail transit line. The lobby is an

arched bridge that lets locomotives go

under it, and in “living rooms” patrons

can sit on swirly chairs and watch them

zoom by all day.

The library, which opened last No-

vember, was built to replace the existing

downtown branch. “The old central li-

brary location was almost too small

from the moment it opened,” said Kate

Thompson, the vice president of devel-

opment who led the project. The new

building offers 60 percent more space.

The library goes from “fun” to “seri-

ous” as visitors ascend the spiral stair-

case. On lower floors there are two cafes,

a teen center, a children’s space and a

320-seat theater. The highest floor is the

Great Reading Room, a more traditional

library space surrounded by wooden

planks. “There are no signs on the walls

to ask for silence,” said Ms. Thompson.

“But the room is always in a state of

hushed silence.”

Calgary is one of many Canadian cit-

ies, including Ottawa and Edmonton,

getting a new super-library, as the locals

call them.

QATAR NATIONAL LIBRARY

Doha, Qatar

Designed by the Dutch architect Rem

Koolhaas, the Qatar National Library,

which opened in April 2018, is all about

symbolism, a physical representation of

the country’s reverence for learning.

The entry way is full of stacks housing

almost one million books, including

137,000 for children and 35,000 for teens.

“The way they are built on an incline, it

looks like they are coming out of the

floor,” said Dr. Sohair Wastawy, the li-

brary’s executive director. “It elevates

the books and the knowledge people are

looking for.”

The 72-foot-tall ceiling is made en-

tirely of glass, drilling home the mes-

sage that light is essential to learning.

The Heritage Library, 11 rooms full of ob-

jects significant to Qatar and the region,

is sunk 20 feet into the ground. “The

symbolism is that heritage is the root of

the nation, the root of the land,” Dr.

Wastawy said.

Every month the Qatar Philharmonic

Orchestra performs for the public, one

of the 80 to 90 free events the library

holds monthly. One of the most popular

activities is a knitting group. There are

labs for writing music, broadcast rooms

with green screens and play spaces for

children.

TIANJIN BINHAI LIBRARY

Tianjin, China

The Tianjin Binhai Library was built for

practical purposes, to serve the Binhai

New Area, which was formed in 2009 by

the merger of three districts of Tianjin, a

port city in northeastern China. It

opened in October 2017 and has every-

thing expected in a library: reading

rooms, learning spaces, book storage

and a large archive. But the majority of

guests come from all over the world to

see the fantastical architecture created

by the Dutch firm MVRDV and local ar-

chitects from the Tianjin Urban Plan-

ning and Design Institute.

“I think for the first week the library

had around 10,000 visitors per day,” said

Winy Maas, a founding partner with

MVRDV and the architect of the library.

“People were lining up in the street to

enter!”

The 363,000-square-foot space is

painted floor to ceiling in pure white. In

the middle of the space is a spherical au-

ditorium nicknamed “the eye.” Around

it are undulating floor-to-ceiling shelves

that form waves. Staircases are incorpo-

rated into the bookshelves: It’s a popu-

lar place for selfies and Instagram posts.

CENTRAL LIBRARY

Austin, Tex.

The Central Library in Austin opened its

doors on October 2017 with the Texas be-

lief that bigger is always better. With six

floors and 200,000 square feet of space,

it is twice the size of the former Old

Faulk Central Library.

The library sits next to Shoal Creek

and Lady Bird Lake, and many ameni-

ties focus on the outdoors. Wraparound-

porches serve as reading rooms. The

children’s room has a reading porch ad-

jacent to it and a giant chess set just out-

side.

“The design gives you a sense of

peace,” said Ms. Garcia-Febo, the li-

brary association president who re-

cently visited there. “It is very helpful

for communities to have these spaces

where they can feel peace.”

There is a seed library where users

can check out seeds to plant at home.

Rainwater is collected for use in the rest-

rooms. One of the quirkier features of

the library is a “technology petting zoo”

on the fifth floor where visitors can play

with new gadgets they don’t yet (or

might not ever) own. They can draw on

tablets, create a model on a 3D printer or

record a song on a Spire Studio.

DEICHMAN BJORVIKA

Oslo

Construction of a new main branch of

Deichman, Oslo’s public library, is un-

derway in the newly established neigh-

borhood of Bjorvika. Scheduled to open

in the spring of 2020, it will serve as a

public landmark, time capsule and en-

tertainment hub.

The top of the building cantilevers,

seen from downtown Oslo and the train

station. Large, open entrances will be

placed on the east, west and south sides

to welcome visitors. At night the library

will change colors to reflect events tak-

ing place. Viewing areas will offer spec-

tacular views of Oslo, the fjord and the

city’s green, rolling hills.

Inside, a room storing secret manu-

scripts won’t be opened until 2114, part

of the Future Library Project conceived

by the artist Katie Paterson. Every year

from 2014 to 2114 a popular writer is to

create a manuscript written on local pa-

per (a forest of 1,000 trees was planted

for the project.) After the 100- year peri-

od they can be read.

More visitors will use the library’s en-

tertainment facilities, including a large

movie theater and a gaming zone that

allows patrons to battle one another in

public. (It’s one way to get teenagers in

the door.)

TUOMAS UUSHEIMO QATAR NATIONAL LIBRARY

Where libraries are tourist attractions

Upper left, the Helsinki Central Library Oodi; upper right, the Qatar National Library; above, the Tianjin Binhai Library in China.

OSSIP VAN DUIVENBODE

BY ALYSON KRUEGER

The Calgary New Central Library has a light rail transit line running through it.

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