ABSTRACT
121Libraries have played a very significant role in the evolution of contemporary architecture. In Paris the Bibliothèque St Geneviève of 1843, designed by Henri Labrouste, introduced a skeleton of slender iron columns and decorative arches into its main reading room. The same architect was called upon to design France's Bibliothèque Nationale in 1865, which again used slender iron columns to support nine domes of faience and glass.
