Check out this slideshow of the twelve coolest libraries in the world. And then, if you’re anything like me, you can start checking airline prices and planning trips to San Diego and the Czech Republic.

I’ve been to two of these libraries: the Vancouver Public Library, of course; and, the Library of Trinity College in Dublin, where I think I may have drooled on one or two illuminated manuscripts.

The place that looks most amazing to me is the Walker Library of the History of Human Imagination, but that one’s not open to the public. Maybe one day I’ll make friends with Jay Walker…