I took a short trip to Amsterdam last week and came across Openbare Blibiotheek – the largest public libary in Europe. Built in 2007 at a cost of 80 million euros, it was a welcome sign that progressive societies still value free access to information. And then I came home to reality on Wednesday to read the Times article “Anger Builds as a Private Company Takes over Libraries“…

I’ve included a slideshow of some pictures I took, so we can all be jealous…

The Openbare is truly amazing – 10 floors, 1200 seats, 600 Apple computers, 28,000 square meters of space, an awesome collection of CDs and DVDs, a theater that seats 250, conference rooms which may be rented for special events, a gourmet cafe on the roof, overlooking the city, with a fully stocked bar … only in Europe! With a staff of 200, the library is open 7 days a week, 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.