19 Beautiful Photos Of Libraries That Prove They're The Last Good Place In This World
Treat yo shelves.
Richard Silver is a 56-year-old travel photographer from New York and his photo series of libraries from around the world is absolutely breathtaking.
Speaking to BuzzFeed, Silver explained, "As a photographer who appreciates and photographs architecture, I have always been fascinated with libraries ever since I was a kid and went to the NY Public Library on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Now, as a travel photographer, I set out to shoot any interesting library wherever I travel to."
1. Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library, Antwerp, Belgium

Richard Silver Photo
2. José Vasconcelos Library, Mexico City, Mexico

Richard Silver Photo
3. Sainte-Geneviève Library, Paris, France

Richard Silver Photo
4. Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, California

Richard Silver Photo
5. Rijksmuseum Library, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Richard Silver Photo
Silver explained, "Personally, I am fascinated more with the older more ornate libraries than the modern ones. They remind me of religious structures with all the details in their architectural style."
6. Real Gabinete Library, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Richard Silver Photo
7. Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY

Richard Silver Photo
8. Mitchell Library, Sydney, Australia

Richard Silver Photo
9. Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts

Richard Silver Photo
10. Strahov Library, Prague, Czech Republic

Richard Silver Photo
He continued, "Most people do not think of going to a library when they travel. To me, they are missing out on some pretty spectacular sites."
11. New York Public Library, New York, NY

Richard Silver Photo
12. State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

Richard Silver Photo
13. National Library of Latvia, Riga, Latvia

Richard Silver Photo
14. University Library, Leuven, Belgium

Richard Silver Photo
15. National Library of China, Beijing, China

Richard Silver Photo
"For the amount of traveling that I have done in my life, 90 countries so far, I feel I need to find unique locations that still excite me as a traveler as well as a photographer," Silver said.
16. House of the Redeemer Library, New York, NY

Richard Silver Photo
17. National Library, Vienna, Austria

Richard Silver Photo
18. Vienna College Library, Vienna, Austria

Richard Silver Photo
19. Stuttgart Municipal Library, Stuttgart, Germany

Richard Silver Photo
And what does Silver hope audiences take away from this series?
Architecture is my favorite genre to photograph and I hope this series shows another aspect of my full body of work. This series, to me, has a potential to show different cultures all around the world how others appreciate the written word, something that all people should be proud of wherever they may live.