‘A cultural masterpiece’: the world’s best new public libraries – in pictures

On Monday, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) announced the five finalists for the annual Public Library of the Year award, which honours newly built public libraries. Libraries are assessed according to how they combine functional architecture, information technology, and local culture. This year’s shortlisted institutions include libraries in Australia, Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands and China

Main image: Marrickville library, Sydney, Australia. Photograph: The Moment It Clicks Pty Ltd/Inner West Council

  • Marrickville library, Australia

    Located in Sydney’s inner west, the new Marrickville library is a three-storey, 3,600m² purpose-built library. It was constructed on the site of the long-closed Marrickville hospital. The hospital was shuttered in 1990. The council acquired the land a few years later and had planned to build a community centre there. They didn’t get development approval until 2017.
    The wood-panelled exterior of Marrickville library

  • The new building has been praised as a beautiful example of adaptive re-use – bricks, timber balustrades and columns from the original hospital building have been incorporated into the design.
    Curved ceilings and walkways inside Marrickville library

  • The new Marrickville library, by BVN architects, also has event spaces, a pavilion, an outdoor garden, a playground, a robotic collection system and a historic art book collection that was previously not accessible to the public.
    The exterior of Marrickville public library at dawn

  • There are 1,230-plus linear metres of shelving for Marrickville’s collection.
    There are 1,230-plus linear metres of shelving for its collection.

  • Het Predikheren, Mechelen, Belgium

    This building, now a public library, is a former monastery abandoned in 1975. The whole baroque building has been restored and has a square ring outlay, with the outer ring consisting of office spaces and classrooms and an inner ring with a courtyard, attic and church. ‘The features of the original construction have been rigorously respected,’ the IFLA judges say.
    The exterior of an old monastery in Mechelen, Belgium

  • Deichman Bjørvika, Oslo, Norway

    This five-storey waterfront library holds up to 450,000 books under its large skylight. Sitting next to the Olso Opera House, the library was renovated as part of the Fjord City urban renewal project.
    Pedestrians and a cyclist pass the new Deichman Library, Oslo’s main public library, in Oslo, Norway

  • The Oslo library has reading rooms, a cinema, a 200-seat auditorium in the basement, cafes, restaurants, recording studios, rehearsal rooms and game rooms.
    Children carry 6000 books from the city's old library to the new Deichman library in Oslo, Norway

  • Forum Groningen, the Netherlands

    Described as a ‘cultural department store’, this building holds not only a library but also a cinema, exhibition halls, a museum for comics, animation and games, a media lab, restaurant and rooftop terrace. • This caption was amended on 6 August 2021 to remove an incorrect assertion that the Forum Groningen houses parts of the Groningen Museum.
    The exterior of Forum Groningen

  • The eastern side of Forum Groningen was destroyed during the second world war but was subsequently rebuilt. IFLA judges called the library ‘a cultural masterpiece with all the attraction and comfort future citizens could ever want’.
    The interior of Forum Groningen, the Netherlands

  • Ningbo New Library, Ningbo, China

    About 200km south of Shanghai, the Ningbo New Library is a cultural hub, comprising a children’s library, a 24-hour library, a library for the visually impaired, two lecture halls, a café, and a grand reading room. The ground floor connects to a public plaza and a wetland.
    The exterior of the Ningbo New Library, China

  • Two million books sit under the roof of the 8,000 sq metre, four-storey building.
    The interior of the Ningbo New Library
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