Spijkenisse, in the Netherlands, has a spectacular new library. Books may be on the way out, but buildings for them seem to get better and better (the Danish National Library in Copenhagen, Black Diamond, is also gorgeous). 
The idea of having the books housed within a free standing enclosing structure is also used in the Beinecke Library at Yale (thin panes of marble there rather than glass) and also King George III’s library at the British Library. But both of those are glassed in and a bit forbidding (understandably as they are rare book collections). I love the “pile of books in a train station” quality that this new one has. The café at the very top is a nice touch. Another potential stop for my “library tour” of the world…
A Few Reasonable Words 