Written by Library Planet editors Christian Lauersen and Marie Engberg Eiriksson, Denmark. For how to contribute to Library Planet look here: https://libraryplanetnet.wordpress.com/contribute/

It’s Friday afternoon and you just know it’s gonna be a raunchy start of the weekend because you got a library traveling date with Library Planet partner in crime, Marie. A library visit followed by beers and Library Planet plans – how great can a Friday even be?

Today’s destination was Frederiksberg Main Library centered in the heart of Copenhagen. The library is a part of Frederiksberg Municpality which is a different municipality than Copenhagen Municipality even though they are both based in Copenhagen City. Frederiksberg is a classy and wealthy area of Copenhagen with beautiful old buildings and a lot of history. The population is around 105.000 Frederiksberg City is the only city in the municipality. The Main Library is located in a wonderful building from 1935 and has always functioned as a library. Very close neighbors is Copenhagen Business School and Frederiksberg Gymnasium. In 2004 the original building was extended with 1500 extra square meters underground – we’ll get back to that.

Frederiksberg Main Library

Entering the library is like entering an old world (and not in a bad way). The main reading hall and collection room is huge with beautiful wooden shelves covering every centimeter of wall and an almost devoulty atmosphere. Even though it is perfectly fine to speak in the main reading hall it is not a noisy room and you automatically lower you voice when talking to each other. Just sitting there, looking at the scenery, picking up a book or a newspaper fills you with peace. A librarians desk I located in the center of the room staffed with a very friendly and vibrant librarian, that could tell us about the development of the library room from being more book-heavy to a place with more space for community activities.

Cosy reading spots in the main reading and collection hall

In connection with the main reading all and collection hall you find an almost similar room with newspapers, various journals and some very cool old school study spaces.

Cool and popular study spaces

Going downstairs to the never extension mentioned before the scenery total changes. A huge one room space in different levels meets you with different opportunities. You find a very neat and well functioned Children’s Library full of lively kids and families. The Children’s Library has different “scenes” like picnic, dinner table etc. which creates worlds for the kids to enter. A music collection, a stage and an exhibition area is also to be found underground. Even though there is no windows to let in daylight the underground library is full of light and it is pleasant to be there.

Sometimes extensions to building doesn’t work and the new building seems attached in a unnatural way but Frederiksberg have solved the underground extension with success and the old and new library experience co-exists in great harmony.

What else to do in this area? Being a library tourist the obvious choice is to head right over to the library of Copenhagen Business School just across the square. After that a long walk in Frederiksberg Garden followed with a cup of coffee or a drink in one of the many cafés and bars in the area seems like a solid plan. Enjoy

Library Planet greetings

Christian & Marie           

The library tourists