Shhh! World’s most stunning libraries captured in new book that will leave you lost for words

Lucy Crossley wrote:
 
These stunning photographs illustrate the world's greatest libraries built long before Kindles and iPads existed.
The incredible images document spectacular literary institutions from around the globe, dating from modern times right back to the 15th century.
British academic Dr James Campbell visited more than 80 libraries in 20 countries for his new book The Library, the first complete history of library buildings ever to be written.
 
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Epic tome: New book The Library features stunning pictures of libraries around the globe, including the The Tripitaka Koreana at the Haeinsa Temple in South Korea
 
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Quiet please: The grand Mafra Palace Library, in Mafra, Portugal, is just one of the many libraries featured in Dr James Campbell's new book
 
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Shhhh: The Codrington Library was built to house the thousands of books at All Souls College in Oxford long before Kindles and iPads existed
 
The fabulous photos in the book, published by Thames and Hudson, show the wealth that people were prepared to lavish on libraries in a world where knowledge was power.