I love all kinds of libraries, from small-town public libraries to huge university research libraries.

The first library I posted about on this blog was the Atlanta Public Library in Illinois, which my wife and I stumbled upon during a day trip. It is so charming—a 1908 octagonal building that I didn’t take nearly enough photos of.

That was in 2010, and it kicked off an unplanned series of posts featuring photos of libraries that I either stumble upon or intentionally visit.

Because I do not want to bother people or post photos in which patrons are easily identifiable, I’m often unable to take pictures of the entire interior of a library because — hurrah! — libraries are usually busy places. As a result, these posts are not comprehensive library tours, nor are they “reviews.” They are celebrations and documentation of priceless public centers of information and knowledge. The Library: One of the greatest human inventions of all time.

If you should notice yourself in a photo and want me to blur your image, just let me know.

ALABAMA

• Huntsville — coming soon!
• Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest

ALASKA

• Juneau
• Sitka

CONNECTICUT

• Bethlehem
• Branford
• Chester
• Derby
• East Haddam
• East Haven
• Essex
• Farmington, Tunxis Library
• Glastonbury, East Glastonbury
• Glastonbury, South Glastonbury
• Glastonbury, Welles-Turner Memorial Library
• Guilford
• Hamden
• Hartford, Thomas J. Meskill Law Library (UCONN)
• Ivoryton
• Kent
• Milford
• Moodus (East Haddam)
• Mystic
• New Haven, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
• New Haven, The Institute Library, Guest post on The Emerald City Book Review
• New London
• Norfolk
• Norwich, Old Otis Library, 1850
• Old Lyme
• Salisbury, Guest post on Book Bloggers International
• Unionville, old West End Library
• Westbrook 

GEORGIA

• Atlanta, The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum — coming soon!

ILLINOIS

• Arlington Heights
• Atlanta
• Belvidere
• Brookfield
• Chicago, Blackstone Branch
• Chicago, Loyola University
• Chillicothe, Old Carnegie Library, 1915
• Chillicothe, New Public Library, 2005
• Dwight 
• Freeport, Three libraries
• Galena
• Hines, Veterans Hospital
• Riverside

IOWA

• Dubuque
• Iowa City

KANSAS

• The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum — coming soon!

MAINE

• Ogunquit Memorial Library
• Seal Harbor

MASSACHUSETTS

• Amherst
• Bernardston
• Buckland
• Lenox
• New Bedford
• Northampton, Forbes Library
• South Hadley, Chihuly art installation at Williston Memorial Library, Mount Holyoke College

NEBRASKA

• Beatrice, Old Carnegie Library, 1904
• Beatrice, New Public Library, 1991
• Hastings 
• Plattsmouth 
• Red Cloud

NEW HAMPSHIRE

• Jaffrey

NEW YORK

• Katonah Village Library
• Manhattan, Bobst Library NYU
• Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Jefferson Market Library
• Manhattan, The Morgan 
• Manhattan, New York Public Library, Main Branch
• Manhattan, The New York Society Library
• Nyack Public Library

OHIO

• Brumback Libray, Van Wert

PENNSYLVANIA

• Pittsburgh — The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
• Washington, Citizens Library
• Washington, Washington and Jefferson College (2)

RHODE ISLAND

• Charlestown
• Newport, Redwood Library & Athenaeum
• Providence Athenaeum
• Westerly

VERMONT

• Manchester Center
• Newfane, Moore Free Library

VIRGINIA

• Washington, D.C., Library of Congress, Jefferson Building
• Winchester

WASHINGTON

• Seattle, Fremont
• Seattle, Private community library

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Send me on a mission!

Is there a New England library you’d like me to visit? Let me know! I’ll do my best to make it there and then report back here.

P.S. Sometimes libraries are closed when I stumble upon them and for a while I titled those posts “Library Stops.” When I got to walk around inside a library and take interior shots, I titled those posts “Library Visits.” (As of late 2021 I’m no longer making these designations.)