ABSTRACT
The history of library architecture goes back to the third millennium before Christ. Library architecture has been closely related to the development of library collections and their materials: from the clay tablets and papyri of temple libraries to the stately interiors of noble and royal libraries and the rationally organized stacks of the twentieth century research libraries. However, in the twentieth century and around the millennium many libraries have also developed into multipurpose or multispace cultural and public centers. Important steps in the development of the modern library have been: Gabriel Naudé's Advice from 1627, the library visions of the Age of Enlightenment, the open access of the public libraries, and the opening of the library space of the twentieth century. Around the millennium physical library space is challenged by “the library without walls.”
