The central public library in Den Haag is attached to the city hall, very centrally located in the…read morecentre of town. In addition to books and other such library items, they also have a really good setup of tables and couches and free wifi if you're looking for a quiet place in the centre of the city to study or work for a few hours. I came here because I had a couple of hours to kill and some work to get done on my computer, and I didn't feel like paying for endless cups of coffee in a cafe. I snagged a spot at a table, easily connected to the free wifi, and got to work! Since I don't live in The Hague, this is the most useful purpose of the building for me. However, I'm sure it's also a great library for borrowing books!!!!!

From the owner: De zes verdiepingen van de Centrale Bibliotheek met informatie en ontspanning zijn vrij…read moretoegankelijk voor iedereen, lid of geen lid van de bibliotheek. Verdeeld over de verdiepingen zijn er zo'n 600 individuele studieplaatsen Ook voor krant of favoriete tijdschrift is de bibliotheek het juiste adres.

Rapenburg 25, built in 1654 is a considered one of the finest examples of the Dutch classical…read morestyle. As it once was home to Johannes Thysius, after his death it was preserved as library of his collected works. Thanks to Leiden University, publishers and printers such as the Elzevier family, flourished. Leiden was considered a city of books and those that were forbidden elsewhere in Europe were printed in Leiden including books by the Italian scientist Galileo and the French philosopher Descartes. Of note, Descartes lived at Rapenburg 23 in 1640.