Barcelona can boast two things: some of the best libraries in Europe and also some of the most curious. In the following lines you will find a guide to the best libraries in Barcelona that you should visit at least once in your life, either for its architecture, its history or for bringing a new concept to the city.
García Márquez Library
A library that goes beyond literature and books. The García Márquez has become an architectural reference. In 2023 it won the award for the Best Public Library in the World the award is given by the World Congress of Libraries and General Info in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
It opened in 2022 and that same year won the City of Barcelona Architecture Award and was a finalist for the FAD Architecture and Interior Design Awards.
📍 Treball, 219.
Library of Catalonia
It is the history of Barcelona. Since 1939 the Library of Catalonia has been housed in the former Hospital de la Santa Creu, one of the best examples of 15th century civil Gothic architecture in Catalonia. In fact, its facilities are the former premises of a medieval hospital. It has a collection of 3 million copies, with 20,000 manuscripts and 500,000 letters.
📍 Hospital, 56.
Francesca Bonnemaison Library
The Francesca Bonnemaison Library was a pioneer, as it was established as the first library for women in all of Europe. It was created in 1909 and after moving to various locations in Barcelona, since the early twentieth century we find it in the Cordelles house.
It was named after its founder, but it was originally called Biblioteca Popular de la Mujer (Women’s Popular Library). Today it is a reference center for equality policies, women’s rights and a cultural proposal open to all citizens.
📍 C/ de Sant Pere Més Baix, 7.
Seed library
This curious library, which is the Collserola – Josep Miracle public library, was born during a visit to a library in Strasbourg. There, users could pick up seeds to get started in horticulture. The idea came to fruition among a group of enthusiasts with the aim of preserving native species and also to bring the millenary traditions of the farmers closer to the neighbors.
📍 Elisa Moragas i Badia, 16-34, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi.
Arús Library
Founded in 1895, it is a jewel of Barcelona for its aesthetics and history. Currently, it is a reference in specialized research, with an extensive collection dedicated to Freemasonry, the labor movement, anarchism, and the universe of Sherlock Holmes. Its documentary archive is immense, with special attention to works published in the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century.
📍 Pg. de St. Louis. Joan, 26.
Monteserrat Abelló Library
With 3,300m2 it is a space dedicated to innovation. You can see it in its diaphanous, white architecture and in its makerculture, which promotes innovation and open knowledge to create objects with digital tools. It is the first public building in the city to be BREEAM certified, a world-leading method of assessing and certifying sustainability in buildings.
📍 Carrer dels Comtes de Bell-Lloc, 192.
Library of things
what if instead of books, we lend objects? With this in mind, the Library of Barcelona Things a space where you can give a second life to any object without having to buy it. It will get you out of more than one trouble and you will share a meeting point with the rest of the neighbors.
📍 C/ de Josep Pla, 174.