Top 12 TikTok-Approved Libraries To Visit In The US In 2024

For those who consider one of life's greatest pleasures to be settling into a comfy chair and cracking open the spine of a book, it's great to know that not all adventures begin on a jet plane or involve picking the perfect beach to relax on. In celebration of National Book Lovers Day on August 9, Islands looked to TikTok for help creating the ultimate guide to book lovers' favorite destinations — journeys that involve getting lost in a labyrinth of beautiful books — by finding out which U.S. libraries TikTok users love most. After all, our research found that Google searches for "Best libraries in the U.S." skyrocketed 887% over the past year.

To identify and rank the best U.S. libraries, we first took a deep dive into the app's library mentions and hashtags. Next, we ranked TikTok's top libraries based on the number of views, incorporating reviews and scores from Tripadvisor to help create a comprehensive picture of each library's engagement. Not only did our research lead us to create a list of libraries that challenge the imagination, but it also taught us that BookTok is alive and well — in fact, Islands found that #BookTok has 35.2 million posts with more than 284.9 billion views.

What's more, #LibraryTok has 337.9 million views for its 67,400 posts, with #Bookloversoftiktok coming in at 145.8 million views for its 55,600 posts. Simply #Library has 473,800 posts and 4.7 billion views — which is no surprise considering "Public library" Google searches are up 350% within the last 30 days. To kick off National Book Lovers Day, here are TikTok's favorite U.S. libraries, ranked.

With 14.9 million TikTok views and 9,169 Tripadvisor reviews with an average score of 4.5 stars, the Library of Congress came in first for TikTok's favorite U.S. library, according to Islands' research. First founded in 1800, the more than 200-year-old library located directly across the street from the Capitol building is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution. It's also a favorite destination among visitors to the nation's capital.

Picking up a Library of Congress library card as a souvenir is a popular D.C. vacation pastime among Booktokkers — and the fact that it's completely free doesn't hurt. As TikTokker Pamela Hess advised, a library card also allows visitors to skip the often distressingly long traffic into the main building. Instead, Hess recommends registering for a card online before heading over to the Madison building to have the ID photo taken, thus allowing you to skip the tourist line and walk right in like you belong there — because, after all, you do.

Spanning three buildings, the Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with bragging rights for both the largest collection of books and the largest collection of maps on the planet. A stroll around the Jefferson Building is like being transported into a fairy tale. A Gilded Age architectural marvel created in the ornate Italian Renaissance-inspired Beaux Arts style, the building features decadent marble, elegant columns and statuary, and a 160-foot dome stretching over its Main Reading Room.

According to Islands' research, Boston Public Library earned TikTok's second-place spot with 11.6 million views and an average Tripadvisor rating of 4.5 stars for its 4,131 reviews. It frequently ranks among many travel bloggers' top recommendations for free things to do while in the city, as Megan Emily's viral TikTok video spotlighting the library — which drew 1.7 million views — highlights. It's also one of the reasons Rick Steves chose Boston as one of the best American cities. 

Much like the Library of Congress, Boston Public Library — the United States' first free city library when it was founded in 1848 — is an essential piece of America's library history. Book lovers will fall in love with the architecture of the library's main branch, Central Library in Copley Square. This is a Gilded Age marvel so magical that at its 1888 cornerstone ceremony, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes would remark, "This palace is the people's own." 

Would-be Hermiones who always dreamed of attending Hogwarts but never got their owl letters can immerse themselves in the aspirational library silence of Bates Hall with its 50-foot-high barrel arch vaulted ceilings. From the sprawling murals of the Sargent Gallery and the Abbey Room to the pair of lions guarding the Grand Staircase, this library positively vibrates with Dark Academia energy — making it an absolutely dreamy place to get lost in a book. As TikTokker ShadesofBren commented, "If all libraries looked like this, I would have been a straight-A student."

Our research found that Hearst Castle came in third with 11 million TikTok views and a 4.5-star rating for its 6,988 Tripadvisor reviews, making it a perfect stop on any tour of California's coast. While you can't check out any books there, Hearst Castle's library room — home to more than 4,000 books — is one of TikTok's favorite spots for immersing oneself in the smell of paper. Once the home of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, the home, which is formally named La Cuesta Encantada (meaning "the enchanted castle"), stands as a living monument to the 1920s decadence that inspired "The Great Gatsby." Visitors can tour the house's upper rooms, including its main library, which was built for Hearst's guests back in the grand estate's heyday, on the Upstairs Suites tour.

The library is the kind of room most book lovers dream of: A warm, cozy space full of walnut bookshelves lined with thousands of books and a collection of more than 150 2,000-year-old ancient Greek vases. The library is stocked with classics by Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and more. According to Hearst Castle's Facebook page, book collector A. Edward Newton once called the space "a noble room ... filled with books — not collector's books, but just such books and magazines as one would expect to find in the house of a country gentleman." 

With 10.1 million views on TikTok and a 4.5 rating for a whopping 14,660 Tripadvisor reviews, NYC's Stephen A Schwarzman Building is wildly popular among TikTokkers. The main branch and flagship location for the New York Public Library system, Schwarzman is arguably the nation's most visually iconic library — which is why it has been featured in dozens of films from "Ghostbusters" to "The Day After Tomorrow." From its two pink Tennessee marble-carved lion guardians — Patience and Fortitude — to its ornate Beaux-Arts architecture, the Manhattan landmark is a must-see for every book lover to pass through the city. 

Highlighting the frescoes on the ceiling of the building's grand hall, NYC-based content creator @exlorewithsimi wrote, "You must visit the most beautiful library in NYC." Visitors can settle in with a good book in the sprawling Rose Main Reading Room, which spans the length of two city blocks with its 52-foot ceilings bearing dreamy sky murals, ornate medallions, and lavish hanging chandeliers. However, you'll want to bring your own book with you since the main branch is for research only.

With a 4.5 rating from its 266 Tripadvisor reviews and 4.1 million TikTok views, our research found Johns Hopkins University's George Peabody Library was TikTok's fifth-favorite U.S. library. It's also an absolutely dreamy place to tie the knot, as wedding photographer Anna Lowe's viral TikTok post shows. The post, which drew a whopping 3.3 million views and features an elegant wedding underneath the library, which has been strewn with market lights, reads, "pov: you get married in the cathedral of books aka The George Peabody Library in Baltimore ❤." With its gorgeous cast-iron balconies stacked five stories high with hundreds of thousands of books and a 61-foot atrium shining natural light down from above, it's easy to see how the neoclassical masterpiece earned such a moniker.

While visitors are only allowed to check out the first floor, this doesn't detract from the book-lovers awe you'll experience in the slightest as you look to the sky to find yourself surrounded by countless tomes. "This is an underappreciated gem of Baltimore," wrote Tripadvisor reviewer Leonhkny, adding, "With decorative Greek columns, George Peabody Library is a temple of literature." Gorgeous.

The main library location of the University of California, San Diego, Geisel Library boasts 2.8 million views on TikTok, maintaining a 4.5 rating among its 46 Tripadvisor reviews. Named for Audrey and Theodor Seuss Geisel — aka Dr. Seuss — Geisel Library is beloved primarily for its distinctive architecture, which looks like something out of a science fiction film. With its gleaming array of windows to reflect San Diego's natural beauty perfectly arranged like carefully stacked children's blocks, the stunning building is a marvel of Brutalist design created by Chicago architect William Pereira, who is perhaps best known for conceptualizing San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid.

As a destination for readers, the library offers a broad selection of options. Sharing images of students reading in various Geisel locations, one UC San Diego TikTok suggests the outdoor forum underneath the library for an "outdoorsy mood." For "meet-cute mood," they recommend a cozy two-sofa nook surrounded by book-lined shelves, and for "hangry mood," a seat in the bustling café-area seating outside Audrey's sandwich shop in the east wing.

The library's first and second levels are open to visitors, and for book lovers listening to audiobooks, the grounds outside are a fantastic destination. As Tripadvisor reviewer Kitty272727 advised, "Walk all around the outside to see this stunning library from all angles, rising above the landscape and nestled into the ground, either tree-like or cave-like. Artworks surround it. Notice the metal tree, the snake walk, the sun goddess, and the inspirational message."

For those among us who would rather spend our New York visit cozied up with a true crime novel than dodging the crowds and tourist traps of Times Square, Brooklyn beckons. With 2.4 million views on the app, BookTok adores Brooklyn Public Library — particularly the library's main branch, Central Library. And so do the library's 280 Tripadvisor reviewers, whose reviews average 4.5 stars. While it's hard to fully appreciate the design from the ground, the building appears like an open book when viewed from above.

The building, which was reimagined in the Art Deco mode after decades of lagging construction on its initial Beaux-Arts design, underwent a dramatic interior redesign under the direction of award-winning Japanese-American architect Toshiko Mori beginning in 2019. The end result is a calming, expansive, and brightly lit space to settle in with a good book aided by modern interior design choices like the library's honey-toned oak, minimalist seating, and clean white terrazzo flooring.

As Tripadvisor reviewer Thomas V wrote, "This is a beautiful building, more inside than out. It's quite monumental and a cathedral of learning in a place where that is so important." While the library can be quite busy in some areas depending on when you visit, there are a number of designated quiet spaces located around the building, so don't be afraid to ask.

Nestled away on the Yale campus, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library boasts an outstanding 5-star average among its 285 Tripadvisor reviews. According to our research, the library can also claim 2 million views on TikTok. As the library's many TikTok tributes attest, Beinecke is like something from a book lover's happiest dreams.

Built in 1963, the building itself is designed in the Internationalist style of architecture, a style influenced by industry and modernism beginning around the 1920s through the 1930s. The building's facade was constructed using 1.25-inch thick Vermont marble with a unique characteristic: translucence. That translucence diffuses light from outside the building to create a warm, natural glow inside the building that helps to protect the collection of rare books and manuscripts from ultraviolet damage. A six-story glass tower inside the building provides another layer of protection — not to mention a romantic backdrop for devoted readers.

Inside the facility, comfortable seating right next to the panels TikTokker Archimarathon called "phenomenal" provides a dreamy and almost otherworldly spot to get lost in a good book. The fact that guests are surrounded by rare literature like the collection's two volumes of an original Gutenberg Bible only serves to add to the sense of enchantment in this sacred space.

Fancy a little literature in the City of Angels? Coming in at spot nine, the Los Angeles Central Library has 1.8 million views on TikTok and a 4.5 Tripadvisor rating among its 437 reviews. This location, officially named the Richard J. Riordan Central Library, is located in downtown Los Angeles where it serves as the main branch of the library.

As some of the library's Tripadvisor reviews point out, the library is something of a free museum. A striking example of Art Deco architecture, the historic location features a rotunda filled with colorful murals across its ceiling and walls and countless dreamy spaces to hole up in with a good book.

"An absolute fantastic facility, superb selection of reading materials and public information," raved Tripadvisor user Wanderlust. "Magnificent building and beautiful gardens." Other users advised making sure to check out the library's children's reading room. With its warm, colorful murals and darkly finished wooden shelves, this is easily one of the coziest spaces in the library.

The interior of NYC's Morgan Library and Museum — which boasts a cool 1 million views on TikTok and 2,134 Tripadvisor reviews with an average score of 4.5 — features one of the most ornate, opulent, and enchanted libraries in the United States. To stare wistfully at the ceiling feels not unlike being stuck inside a giant jewelry box with the aesthetic of a Fabergé egg. At $25 per adult, the entrance fee to check out the library and private collection is a little on the steep side, but many feel it's worth the price of admission.

"A fascinating place itself, dreamlike," Tripadvisor user eugenie123 wrote of the majestic library. Filled with rare and beautiful manuscripts, the decadent reading space features 30-foot walls lined with triple-tier bookcases of Circassian walnut set behind elegant bronze. As London-based user Farwriter advised, "The main attraction here is the amazing golden library of Pierrepont Morgan, and the adjoining study and rotunda. The library is absolutely breathtaking, and unexpected when you enter from the modern glass entrance."

Coming in close behind Morgan Library, Islands found the Cleveland Public Library also had a million TikTok views and a 4.5 rating on Tripadvisor, with slightly fewer reviews at 259 total. Split between two buildings in downtown Cleveland, the Cleveland Public Library has a historic main building that's a fan-favorite destination for many book lovers and is perhaps the jewel of the library system.

The other building is the beautifully modern Louis Stokes Wing. Standing at 163 feet and 10 stories high in the shadow of Cleveland's famous Key Tower, the annex features an ornate marble staircase, an arched ceiling ornamented with colorful medallions and an elegant grand chandelier, and an otherworldly blue stairwell that feels like a portal to another realm.

"Romanticize your life, do your reading at the Cleveland Library," TikTok account Cleveland Vibes advised in their tribute to the library. Tripadvisor user John Snethen wrote, "A true gem of knowledge, history, and architecture. Ask for a personal tour from Mr. Spencer, one of the librarians," calling the former Marine "A fount of knowledge about the library and Cleveland."

Last but by no means least, with 984,400 views on TikTok and a 4.5 rating among its 2,232 Tripadvisor reviews, is Seattle Public Library. If you're a book lover who prefers lots of bright natural sunlight for your reading time, there's no better destination than the Seattle Public Library's central location. A postmodernist architecture fantasy, the 11-story library is a boxy building of glittering glass criss-crossed in steel. But what looks interesting from the outside becomes a literary wonderland on the interior, where patrons find themselves underneath a canopy of geometrically angled glass, allowing brilliant light and a view of the sky above to flood the space.

For many book lovers, there's something positively dreamy and awe-inspiring about the juxtaposition of enjoying the ultimate analog interface while sinking into a cozy nook underneath a futuristic industrial backdrop. Tripadvisor user FiftyFifty5050 wrote, "Hands up, I am an avid reader, a lover of books — the real, hold it, smell it, feel it thing." For this reviewer, the library was a perfect place to experience this connection. As they put it, "the architecture here is just stunning; a multitude of angles and facets and reflections, steel and glass, different levels and areas — it is a delight to walk around, and even more of a delight to see how well used this wonderful facility is."