Jeff Luzius is a librarian with years of experience, including serving as library director of the Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center at Air University on Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. Jeff Luzius also served as director of libraries at Gadsden State Community College and head of interlibrary loan and document delivery at the Ralph Brown Draughon Library at Auburn University.
Libraries are often housed in beautiful, highly revered buildings, worthy of more than just book browsing. Below are four of the most impressive libraries in the United States.
1. Baker-Berry Library. Found at Dartmouth College, Baker-Berry Library fronts a simple façade, but the interior boasts a fresco painted by Jose Clemente Orozco as well as a grand reading room with a gorgeous view of the college green and invitingly plush chairs. The adjacent Sanborn Library also is worth a visit, as it serves tea and cookies.
2. Cook Legal Research Library. The University of Michigan Law School’s library was built in 1931 and resembles a Gothic cathedral, with towers and stained-glass windows.
3. Klarchek Information Center. Found at Loyola University Chicago, this library is actually very modern but worth a visit for its stunning panoramic view of Lake Michigan afforded by the building’s all-glass façade.
4. The Seattle Central Library. Seattle's main library was designed by an award-winning architect to include 11 floors and a diamond-shaped exterior made primarily of glass and steel. Unique features of the library include a “Books Spiral” showcasing the entire nonfiction section, and a Red Room, named for its use of red lights and crimson.
