Library Tourism
Since working at Harris County Public library, you could say…I’ve been bitten by the library tourism bug. In some of my recent travels around the country and most recently in China and Korea, I’ve made it a point to visit some other public libraries to get a feel of their buildings, services, and vibes. My affinity for libraries and their spaces is nothing unusual, plenty of people visit libraries around the world every day, so I thought I’d share with you a couple of the libraries I saw in Shanghai and Seoul to possibly save you (or inspire) a trip overseas.
Destination Libraries
The most typical vision of a library is quiet spaces with endless rows of books and perhaps long wooden tables with study lights on them, maybe a few cozy reading chairs. That is perhaps closer to an academic library that you’d find on a college campus. Modern public libraries around the U.S. and the world are turning that vision of a “traditional” library on its head with super active children’s spaces, state of the art labs for Makers and community-based programming. In Asia, I found that their libraries are mostly about materials and culture. Their libraries are mostly in very public spaces that are designed to be destinations, that are as much about inspiration as they are about providing information. The libraries I visited in Asia blended their materials and services into some of the highest foot traffic areas in their cities—making information available where people are already gathering and wowing them with futuristic spaces.
The Starfield COEX Mall Library - Seoul, South Korea
I’ll start with the more aesthetic of the two libraries I visited in Asia, The Starfield COEX Mall library in Seoul, South Korea. 
This public library space is a prime example of blending books, culture, and interior architecture into a public space, creating a must-see destination that is so impressive and awe-inspiring. The curved walls of floor-to-ceiling books are futuristic yet organic, with the warm wooden Japandi styling, and it is obvious why it’s a destination library. There were folks from all over the world here checking out the vibes and the books. Some interesting differences I saw, their books on the first floor were all placed like retail stores on large tables in genre groupings. The books on their shelves were all pushed into the shelving instead of brought out to the lip like ours, AND they filled each shelf from end to end, there were no shelves with bookends. Our shelves have A LOT of breathing room.
The library space blends into the mall on the first floor, the library has seating that is more café style, with little tables
and pretty comfy booth-style seats. There was a librarian at the desk, ready to check out books and answer questions, long tables for people to use computers (although no public computers) and there were several reference computers available for patrons. For a library this aesthetic and commercial, I think you can guess that there weren’t any of the typical neighborhood library hallmarks such as program flyers or book recommendation displays, but I'm not sure if it's just something I missed because I was in awe of the space.
Unlike many American libraries that are typically separate buildings, the Starfield COEX Library is embedded into a modern shopping environment, encouraging the integration of literacy into everyday life. Although the space isn’t totally about borrowing books to take home but instead offers a space to stop, read, and recharge while shopping or meeting friends at the nearby café. They also have regular events, like book signings and live readings, that give people reason to stay and come back, bridging literacy fluidly into daily life in a way that's inclusive and seamless.
ZiKaWei Public Library - Shanghai, China
The second library I want to share with you is in Shanghai, China. This is the historic ZiKaWei Public Library in the XuHui neighborhood in Shanghai. 
This is much more like your typical neighborhood branch library, except it’s so stylish. It was redesigned just a couple of years ago and when I went, it was busy!! With patrons using the library’s children’s space, the many study areas, and tables, as well as tourists.
We’ve had a couple of remodels at our branches and I have, of course, visited the beautiful Austin Public Library, and the main difference in seeing how design and architecture is utilized, is that the Asian libraries seem to put more emphasis on lighting and blending the library space into everyday city life. The ZiKaWei branch’s theme was Light, each space was flooded with glorious natural light, but also filtered through stained glass, or broken up with functional spacing, or emphasized with mellow LED lighting strips hidden in each shelf that illuminated each shelf, making each cubby a treasure. There is also an awesome 3D printed Chinese architecture display on the main floor that offers its own Instagram-worthy photos. The blending of the new and historical within the library is also a perfect allegory for the city of Shanghai itself.
The library is super functional in addition to being beautiful. There are multiple study, seating, lounging and reading areas. There are plenty of reference desks on each of the library's four floors and something that I’d never seen before in American Libraries: self serve UV sanitizers and a reference robot that uses AI to answer patron questions.
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I also thought the programming at this library was pretty stellar. When I was there on a random Thursday afternoon, there was a community craft market outside, a collab with local business in the library’s café for drinks, and I noticed a couple of passive programs at one of the desks, one was a stamping program, where visitors could get the special Library stamp (this is a common souvenir or collectable in Asia) into their personal stamp books (not library issued) and then a really cool urban sketching/scavenger style program that took participants all over Shanghai’s landmarks. The Urban sketching program provided participants with Micron pens, a small sketchpad, a map and an email to submit final sketches. The programming seems as varied as the different groups I saw using the library.
"As inviting as a coffee shop and as stimulating as an art museum"
The main difference between these Asian and American libraries was that while many American libraries adopt modern technology and programs within their walls, few buildings are as immersive or as integrated into public life as the Zikawei and Starfield libraries. The Asian approach sees the library as a living, dynamic space that can seamlessly incorporate into social and commercial life. These libraries draw in the entire community by creating a public space that’s as inviting as a coffee shop and as stimulating as an art museum. I’d love for our libraries to get that sort of platform, but while we wait, our outreach services have been doing an amazing job at bringing the library programs, materials and services to patrons.
In doing this blog, I stumbled across the 1000Libraries website that showcases other noteworthy destination libraries around the world!
What interesting libraries have you been to? I’d love to add them to a library visit wishlist.
Lonely Planet Hidden Libraries
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