Image from the blog Beautiful Libraries. This would be my library
A library is where we find inspiration for ideas. These ideas need not come directly from the books, but also from the objects in the library, and the construction of the library itself. The room's structure, its architectural design, the windows, doorways, stairways, are the preliminary focus for contemplation. The room's interior, its chairs, the wallpaper, the carpet, the ceiling's crown moudlings, provide a sense of order, structure, and aesthetic pleasure which augment those objects of art which it houses. The paintings on the wall, the statues and figures on the desk and other tables remind us of a particular era, a particular artist, and a particular subject, which may inspire us like to follow their examples, or to continue where they left off. Finally, there are the books. And these can be divided into three categories. First, the design of the books, with their ornate covers, or covers of interesting qualities, are like the aesthetic pleasures we would get out of objects of art. Then there is the title of the books, from heavy and serious titles to light and frivolous ones which expand our imagination to where these books wish to take us. Finally, there are the authors of these books, who inspire us to think like them, and who give us their tools and philosophies on how to understand the world better.
Finally, books are meant for reading, and not contemplating. There nothing more superficial than a library of books which have not been read and which sit on the shelves for prestigious show. Even the most precious of books, which at any moment could succumb to the heavy load of dust, are something that have to be opened and read.
Beautiful libraries are hard to find.
A reader sent me a link to a blog titled Beautiful Libraries. Can anyone contemplate beauty in a library like this, or like this? We should nourish our thoughts well.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat