The Library is generally agreed to look like, well, a library. Lots of books and places to sit and read… but that's far from specific. What do you imagine the Library looks like? Grand and antiquated, mahogany shelves and plush seats? Or something more modern, all steel and chrome? Or maybe something else entirely? Feel free to expand - what do the Ways and such look like, for that matter?
I'll be neither the first nor the last person to suggest this, but an infinite Library has every style one could imagine. On a more practical level, however, I think there's one main thing that I'd like to note.
The "Main Hall," the soaring shelves and the fanfare and the bustle… Is a very misleading first impression. Grandiose as it may be, just a little exploration outside of its many doors reveals an endless supply of far quieter spaces. Now, are there areas where the Stacks are visible as high as one can see? Sure, and these places are well walked and well known. But just as often, a one will find themselves in very quiet, sometimes rather cramped rooms and halls.
I call these the Silent Shelves, and the atmosphere here suits my personal fantasy library. End to end and floor to ceiling with books, it's sometimes hard to even move around. Not a whisper disturbs the air, and the only sound is one's own heartbeat and occasional shuffling of pages. The walls and shelves flow seamlessly between eras here, and where once there was a metal rack a few feet later there may be a leaf-covered alcove holding a few leaning books. Most of the area, however, is dominated by warm brown wood and comfortable lighting.
It's hard to believe, here, that through the door you just closed behind you, was a hall the size of a city, for you hear nothing but a slight ringing in your ears. Before you is the peaceful scene you always dreamed of, complete with a small desk at which to read any book that catches your eye. Of course, there is more to read here than one could ever hope to finish, even in this one medium sized room. There's a door at the other end, partially obscured by a semicircular tiered display full of colorful scrolls. It'll be a year or so before you step through it. Better get started.
I definitely imagine the Library as being very “classic”, very grand. I picture huge marble columns, beautiful mosaics, and especially intricate patterns on the floors.
For some reason, I also like to think that it’s shaped like a donut, and the inside wall is covered in a massive window, allowing patrons to look out and see the other side.
Whenever I think of the Library, I imagine a grand hall with grey marble flooring, within which each movement creates a loud echo; there are a few desks where Librarians are available at all times, some weird, alien plants decorating the corners and, most importantly, multiple sets of stairs going in every direction. I'd say each flight of stairs looks different, sometimes to indicate where they lead, and sometimes not at all.
Most areas are probably what you'd imagine an infinite library looks like — tall, almost sky-scraping sets of shelves, some dust in the air, warm light coming from somewhere and a generally cozy, yet somehow imposing atmosphere. But it's the different sections and areas that are worth noting here.
I often imagine something akin to a trading hall being a part of the Library; glass, dome-like roof, probably with stained glass art, lots of people, mercantile stands selling all kinds of weird stuff in exchange for even weirder currencies, multi-storey passages with places to sit down, talk, maybe have a coffee. But you could still find books or other texts there — the cafes are probably your best bet for finding recipe books and similar stuff.
Those are the main 3 things I always imagine when trying to visualize the Library :D I really wanna see what other people have to say about it
Also sorry for any possible mistakes here, I was supposed to go to sleep an hour ago and I'm instead doing Library stuff. Again. Whoops.
For a place that's infinitely expanding, I like to imagine that the Library can't help but be a little strange. As you move through the shelves spiraling up towards the Rafters, you might come upon an area where one or two shelves move perpendicular through the row you're walking down, and only by climbing through the shelf do you find a nook populated with comfy seating, a tiny Way connected to a 'local' pastry shop, and a single ever-burning lamp all left by Wanderers for the next person to find.
The Library is random, but everything has a sense of history. I love the idea that sometimes entire universes get compacted and attached to the Library, like The Zero-Gravathenaeum, which I've been mulling over writing about and created by one Piano. I like the idea that you could go the exact same direction in the Library, and if you don't have anywhere specific to go, you might find yourself in a completely different place than before.
As a result of all this combination and infinite Library-ness, I like that the Library can look very different in separate areas. Shelves are made of different woods, one place might value statues more than paintings in another. (Just had a really cool idea of a mosaic where if you touch each tile, a story is narrated in your mind, saving that idea for later lol).
I'm also of the same mind for Ways. In the only thing I've posted to the site as of writing, I imagined the Way opened by simply parting the two halves of the shelf, despite that being not the case from any other perspective of the shelf. They can be anything, either tornadoes of light or simple doors that give you some serious vertigo when you walk through them.
Those are just some of my thoughts, will be returning to read more when more people respond :)
i love this. i get a bit of the vibe of the House from suzanna clarke's piranesi from this, but i totally agree. i think it would be generally fairly Clean and well-kept (though maybe there are some more dilapidated or vaguely not-sterile areas?), but certainly not predictable or very ordered. completely different vibes one place to the next, lots of strange things to be discovered. not just some clean, simple "hub world" or whatever, but an infinite, living organism of a space, full of its own wonder and exploration beyond just "we have lots of books." i imagine—if its a realm of infinite knowledge and experience, that can't just be confined to literature only, can it? there have to be places where every sort of knowledge, experience, learning you can have can be done. that mosaic idea you mentioned illustrates that really beautifully, and makes the idea of the library feel a lot less sterile and a lot more revelatory.
The Main Hall, I pretty much disregard. I'm far more interested in the more forgotten corners and alcoves. Wooden floors and balconies, not always in the best condition and worsening the further you stray from the well-lit halls. Stone reinforcements at times, with little nooks and crannies that sometimes hide glowing eyes or empty nests lined with torn pages and detritus. Not very bright, so anyone venturing this way would need a lantern and probably a full pack of gear, since it would be easy to get turned around among winding, sometimes outright curved shelves.
Personally I imagine there's a little carved stone alcove somewhere high up, way back somewhere that would take days or maybe a week to travel to, and there'd be a dirty window set into it that you could unlatch for a nice, pleasant breeze. And maybe if someone small or flexible enough wriggled through it, there'd be a little grassy hill with a cozy cottage, some nice chairs, a fireplace and some empty shelves, waiting to be filled. A secret place within a secret place, very comfortable.
I like to think that in some parts of the Library, the appearance of the rooms changes to match what books are there. In a section on Assyria, it looks like the Library of Ashurbanipal; a section on the Ming Dynasty might look like Tianyi Ge. They're not copies, of course, but the general style of architecture is similar.
In general my mental image is kind of what you'd see in the older public libraries in the Northeast and in Europe, though. Kind of geographically limited, but I do like the style and it's evocative.