Its stunning facade is the crown jewel of Swanston Street, its front lawn serves as one of the most popular outdoor spots to hang out in the city, and its interior is jaw-droppingly beautiful. State Library Victoria is loved by Melburnians, and only last year was named as one of the best libraries worldwide – so it makes complete sense that it's now appeared on a list of the most popular libraries in the world. While most of us have walked past it far too many times to count, we simply will never stop being proud of this beloved landmark.
The top libraries list was determined by language learning platform Preply, which used data collated from Google reviews, Wikipedia page views and the volume of social media posts to determine the most popular book havens. State Library Victoria came in at number 15 on the list (out of 50 famous libraries from around the globe), which affirms its reputation as a world-class Melbourne spot.
The coveted number one position was taken by the Library of Congress in Washington DC, which checks out. Rounding out the rest of the top five were the New York Public Library, the Boston Public Library, the Bodleian Library in England (used for filming in the Harry Potter movies!) and the Wiblingen Monastery Library in Germany. The standard here is super high – if you search for images of any of these top-ranked spots, there are some seriously stunning buildings.
While it may not have come in at number one on this list, State Library Victoria is still number one in our hearts. Check out the full list of the top 20 most popular libraries in the world according to Preply below.
Here is the list of the most popular libraries in the world:
- Library of Congress
- New York Public Library
- Boston Public Library
- Bodleian Library
- Wiblingen Monastery Library
- Yale University Beinecke Library
- The Library of El Escorial
- Vatican Library
- Austrian National Library
- Seattle Central Library
- Trinity College Library
- Tianjin Binhai Library
- George Peabody Library
- The Morgan Library & Museum
- State Library of Victoria
- Reading Room at the British Museum
- Salt Lake City Public Library
- Central Public Library
- Royal Portuguese Reading Room
- UNAM Central Library