To commemorate February being Library Lovers month, I thought I’d share some of the best libraries I’ve seen in our travels.

Being from South Australia, I have to start with the library voted the second most beautiful in the world for 2025, as voted by a global community of book lovers (at 1000libraries.com), and that is the Mortlock Chamber of the State Library of South Australia.

Located on North Terrace in Adelaide, the Mortlock library is housed in a Victorian era building and features a beautiful barrel vaulted skylight which makes it a favourite place for photographers, and those who love this style of architecture, as well as being a working study area and repository of collections on South Australian history.

Construction of the building began in 1866 and it was first opened in 1884. The ground floor of the chamber features exhibition bays that showcase historic collections of relevance to South Australia, and the two balconies above feature wrought iron balustrading, and hold more than 40,000 books. The library also features a clock which is still hand wound by staff each week, and was crafted by Dent and Sons of London, who also made the clock in Big Ben Tower.

The chamber recently underwent some restoration work and has now been reopened for public viewing and use. Incredibly, the space can also be hired out for functions including private dinners, corporate events and weddings.

Another stunning library to visit is the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne which is also known for its beautiful architecture, especially the octagonal shaped La Trobe reading room. Apart from being a frequently used reading room with desk spaces for 320 people to use, it houses 32,000 books over its six floors and is topped with a domed ceiling.

This library room was opened in 1913 and its design was inspired by the British Museum in London and Washington’s Library of Congress. The upper galleries used to be accessed by spiral metal staircases which can still be seen today and the desks feature trademark green glass light shades and silky oak chairs. It’s a tourist attraction for the stunning Edwardian design and another fantastic spot for photos.

An interesting library we saw overseas was the State Central Library in Bengaluru, (Bangalore) southern India. It’s an iconic bright red painted Gothic style building, set in the lush green Cubbon Park. Being a reference library only, you can’t borrow books but this 1910 built structure is worth visiting to see its semicircular library room, arched windows, curved bookshelves and domed ceiling.

The double height room is astounding and houses over 3,000,000 books, periodicals, journals, books in braille and newspapers. It has a copy of every book ever published in the state of Karnataka. (Interior photo from: Bangalore city guide)

If you’re looking for more library inspiration, a terrific literary media site to follow is 1000libraries.com for the world’s largest online community for book lovers. It was founded in 2020 and produces editorial content on books, literary history, showcases libraries of the world and focuses on good news and inspirational stories of humanity’s goodness from around the world. (Don’t we all need that!)

They also highlight some of the most beautiful libraries and book shops from around the globe, and produce a free online magazine full of uplifting articles, travel guides and more. Visit the site to see which other libraries made the most beautiful in the world list in 2025, and gain some inspiration for future travels to see more of these beautiful welcoming spaces around the world.

Enjoy

Glenys