A Library Hotel

I recently stumbled across a hotel designed for book nerds: The Library Hotel in New York City.

The hotel has a collection of over 6,000 books and uses the Dewey Decimal System as a theme. (I can hear the cries of a thousand librarians. “What about Library of Congress numbers? Why won’t anyone think of those?” They never get any love, LC call numbers.)

Each floor of the hotel emphasizes one of the major Dewey categories such as languages, philosophy, the arts, or literature, and each of the hotel suites is even more specifically themed. If a patron wants to stay on the Math and Science floor (500) in the Astronomy room (500.006), she can do that. She can also drink a “Tequila Mockingbird” at the rooftop bar, and have the hotel’s librarian choose a selection of books for her. That always seems a bit dangerous to me. Allowing someone else to choose reading materials, I mean. Books are such personal objects.

I suspect this hotel isn’t for everyone – heck, I’m a cheapskate when I travel, so it may not even be for me – but it is an attractive and quirky option for someone who wants to stay in New York but still be a bit insulated from the bustle of the city. And as someone who spent her childhood designing oddly themed restaurants, parks, and zoos, it tickles me that someone actually went through with creating this place. Now if only I can find a lemur hotel…