The Library at Night

When darkness falls, who knows what goes on behind the library’s doors? Take a trip through time and space by visiting 10 iconic libraries. A virtual-reality odyssey, specially created by director Robert Lepage.

The Library at Night is a virtual-reality experience inspired by the book of the same name by author Alberto Manguel. Upon entering, visitors find themselves inside a reconstruction of the author’s library. Next, they pass through a forest, before donning a VR headset to begin the journey.

Ten real or imaginary libraries open their doors:

• The library of Admont Abbey (Admont, Austria)
• The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Alexandria, Egypt)
• The Library of Congress (Washington DC, USA)
• The Megabiblioteca José Vasconcelos (Mexico City, Mexico)
• The National and University Library of Sarajevo (Sarajevo, Bosnia)
• The library on the Nautilus (in Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea)
• The Library of Parliament (Ottawa, Canada)
• Sainte-Geneviève Library (Paris, France)
• Copenhagen University Library (Copenhagen, Denmark)
• The library in Hase-dera Temple (Kamakura, Japan)

An exhibition designed and produced by Ex Machina to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Grande Bibliothèque, based on an original idea by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.