As you may have noticed, we love cemeteries here at Atlas Parasite. Well, another one of our less creepy, but definitely more nerdy, obsessions is libraries! And let me tell you, when I walked into the Amsterdam Public Library last month, I was totally, gleefully nerding out.
Openbare Bibliotheek
I have been living here in Amsterdam for around three months now, and even though I lived in Ghent before this and was fairly used to the grey weather up here, I was still kind of shocked by the gloominess, the cold, and the terrible wind of Amsterdam. And now with winter upon us, there is more darkness during a day than there is light. Sunny days are little gifts that can change your whole mood and your outlook on life, and there are few cities as beautiful as Amsterdam in the sunlight. Unfortunately, those days are few and far between. So what better place to go on a cold, gloomy day than a warm, dry, cozy library?
When I walked into the library from the rain outside, I immediately noticed how warm and bright it was. The designers definitely hit the nail on the head with their great use of windows and warm interior lighting. Even though it’s very modern, it isn’t cold or austere, as many modern designs seem to be. Once inside the library you feel like it’s a happy sunny day outside and your whole attitude changes.
The up the main staircase
There are six floors with thousands of books (there are also English, French, and German sections besides the large Dutch selection), popular and rare DVDs of films, documentaries, TV programs, performances, etc., and music CDs to borrow. The first floor is a children’s section with space to sit and read to your child, areas for play and interaction, etc.
DVD section
By the way, if you haven’t realized it yet, this isn’t a silent, stuffy old library…In fact, soemthing I really appreciated was that they have a piano at the entrance, across from the information and check out booth, where anyone can come and share their talent with the rest of the library. The sound caries pretty far up the central open space going up seven floors and provides nice background music for reading, studying, or using the many computers available all over. The sign does ask that you have some piano-playing experience though, so be considerate and don’t just go and bang on the keys and piss everyone off!
The kid's reading area
I think this is part of what makes the atmosphere really nice for working. Unlike other libraries, it’s not awkwardly silent so that you can’t even move without someone telling you to sshhush! And I personally like to work in an atmosphere where I know that other people are also working and things are going on around me, so I think this would be a nice place to come and study one of these days, especially since it’s open until 10 PM every day (including weekends, which is rare even for the university’s library system).
Small computer area with view of NEMO in the background
The designers seem to have also thought about study spaces pretty interestingly. There are of course a good number of tables and desks to sit at, but my favorite were these pods for one or two people that were kind of isolation chambers in the middle of the room (claustrophes, don’t worry they don’t actually close!). These are good if you need a little more privacy and quiet to read. They were all occupied at the time, so I didn’t get to test it out, but…maybe next time!
Isolation pods
Finally, possibly the best part about the library is the fact that it’s in a pretty tall building by Amsterdam standards, so you can just come here and enjoy one of the better views of the city as you curl up with a good (free!) book. On the top floor, there is a delicious cafeteria, which is actually kind of a self-serve restaurant chain called La Place, which you can find around the country. They have several food stations where you order what you want (pizza, chicken/fish, wok, fresh fruit, juice and desert stations, or coffee/tea/snack sations) and they prepare it fresh right before your eyes. It is a bit of a wait for some things, and it’s kind of annoying to have to stand there and wait, but it is cheap and really good quality food for the price.
La Place caffetteria/restaurant
After you get your food, you can go sit outside on the 7th flood terrace (if it’s a nice day!) and stare out across the canal to the city across. The indoor eating space is also quite large, so you can just bring your books from downstairs and keep reading while you savor the food or have a coffee.
View from the top
+31(0)20 5230900
Open daily 10 AM – 10 PM
Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam – Flickr
