Photos: John Rylands Library in Manchester

I have a thing for libraries. I grew up going to libraries and still remember the awesome treehouse reading nook for kids at my childhood library. When we went to Manchester for the London 2012 Olympics Women’s Soccer match, we stopped in at a welcome center and read about the John Rylands Library. Since we weren’t going to be spending much time in the city, we had to pick one attraction to see and I’m so glad it was this.

The Victorian Gothic architecture is just beautiful and the library was completed in 1899. Everything about the inside is gorgeous: the arched ceilings, the warm tones of the woods, the soft glow of the sconces, and then you walk into the reading room and are just completely blown away. Red carpets line the sides and every nook is filled with books dating back centuries. The ends of the room are adorned with statues and stained glass windows. It was very hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that it’s still a functioning library, and that University of Manchester students actually go there to study. My university’s library pales in comparison.

This is a must-see for any library enthusiast or literature nut. I love libraries for the sheer amount of knowledge they contain housed within thousands of books. And the smell and feel of those old books takes me back to my childhood and reminds me why I went to school for English Literature.