Best public libraries in KL

The library strips away the seemingly frivolous (no kawaii café, unfortunately), celebrating books as passionately as the way the Japanese embraces their Zen lifestyle. And Zen is what you get here – a hushed tatami area that exhibits the casualness of a living room, comfy couches and reading spaces decked out in earthy tones. Fuel your interest in the Japanese culture with fiction, literature and magazines, but you can also do it the fun way through their enviable selection of mangas. The JFKL also hosts cultural activities every month so keep an eye out. 
Membership fee RM10 annually.

There’s something about browsing the towering shelves at this library that we love – the serendipity of chancing upon an interesting book we thought we wouldn’t like and picking up morsels of obscure knowledge along the way. The voracious reader will relish this treasure trove replete with encyclopaedias, dictionaries, fiction and even self-help books. There are long tables and cosy sofas to prolong your stay but we prefer the cosy nooks where you can hole up with a good read. 
Membership RM16 first year, RM10 every subsequent year.

Sleek, modern and steely – this is one of the quietest libraries we’ve been with the loudest architectural design. Situated next to the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Golf Club, this bibliotheca is pretty, yes, but wait until you venture inside where one can engage with literature, economics and culture in the luxury of private reading rooms, three gyms, a 3D and 6D theatre room and more. Don’t bother with study groups – with fast WiFi service and a cosy café overlooking a picturesque lake, you probably won’t get much reading done anyway. 
Free membership.

Our national library is one to bookmark. Even if you’re not here for the exhaustive choices of reading material, the suitably demure architecture, inspired by the intricate traditional Malay headgear tengkolok, often elicits admiration. Gaze up at the celestial ceilings and you’ll find books – ranging from literary works by Malaysia’s poets, such as A Samad Said and Pak Sako, to Harvard academic journals – crowding the shelves. What the library lacks in modern facility (no Unifi-equipped computer room here) it makes up for in the valuable collection of history books such as the Unesco-acknowledged ‘Hikayat Hang Tuah’. 
Free membership.