“A library card was the first thing that was mine, that I had ever owned,” says Nasima Razmyar. Helsinki’s Rikhardinkatu Library opened in 1882 and was the first building in the Nordic countries to be built as a library. Commissioned as part of Finland’s celebration of a century of independence, the library is no mere book repository. Preliminary floor plan by Karl Hård af Segerstad, Helsinki City Architect, in 1909. “I think there is no other actor that could stand in front of the grounds of democracy like the public library does,” says Razmyar.

Source: The Guardian May 15, 2018 10:00 UTC