Bibliotheca Sanctus

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." - Jorge Luis Borges

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The personal library of Carlos Monsivais in Mexico City, Mexico

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The personal library of Carlos Monsivais in Mexico City, Mexico

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The personal library of Carlos Monsivais in Mexico City, Mexico

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The personal library of Carlos Monsivais in Mexico City, Mexico

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The personal library of Carlos Monsivais in Mexico City, Mexico

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The personal library of Carlos Monsivais in Mexico City, Mexico

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Located in the west wing of the old “Jose Vasconcelos” Library in Mexico (La Ciudadela Library, not to be confused with the new Vasconcelos Library), the personal library of Carlos Monsivais is a space where the personal collection created by the writer’s mind is safeguarded for public use.

The Library was built on two levels. The characteristic of the first level is that it offers the possibility of several pathways. There are enclosed spaces with bookshelves that make a reference to the writer’s personal library. The second level instead follows a circuit that allows an extensive view of the whole space. The different paths converge into two different open areas where the user can read the collections. These areas have a double height and natural light.

The Library has several works of Francisco Toledo, a Mexican renowned painter and sculptor, who was a close friend of the writer. One of his designs was used for the marble floor.

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The Jesuit Library in Maria Laach Abbey near Andernach, Germany

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The Jesuit Library in Maria Laach Abbey near Andernach, Germany

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The Jesuit Library in Maria Laach Abbey near Andernach, Germany

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The Jesuit Library in Maria Laach Abbey near Andernach, Germany

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The Jesuit Library in Maria Laach Abbey near Andernach, Germany

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The Jesuit Library in Maria Laach Abbey near Andernach, Germany

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The Jesuit Library in Maria Laach Abbey near Andernach, Germany

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The Jesuit Library in Maria Laach Abbey near Andernach, Germany

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The Jesuit Library in Maria Laach Abbey near Andernach, Germany

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Maria Laach Abbey (in German: Abtei Maria Laach) is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See, near Andernach, in the Eifel region of the Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. The Benedictine abbey was built in the 11th-12th centuries and was originally known as "Abtei Laach", meaning the "Lake Abbey" until 1862 when the Jesuits added the name "Maria".

The abbey church of Maria Laach is considered a masterpiece of German Romanesque architecture, with its multiple towers, large westwork with arcaded gallery, and unique west porch.

Notable features of the interior include the tomb of the founder Pfalzgraf Heinrich II (dating from 1270), 16th-century murals, a Late Romanesque baldachino in the apse, and interesting modern decorations such as mosaics from c. 1910 and stained glass windows from the 1950s.

When the Maria Laach Abbey was abolished in 1802, there was nothing left of either the old library building or the existing book inventory. The manuscripts and prints - about 3700 volumes - were irrevocably lost for the monastery. Today, 69 manuscripts of the historic monastery library of Laach can still be found in other places. Only two manuscripts have returned to the current library.

Today, the library has about 260,000 volumes. Most of it is now in the new magazine. There are also the administrative rooms and a new reading room.