If “A beautiful library” is on your college criteria list, you may want to check out these Hidden Gem colleges:

University of Oklahoma – The Peggy V. Helmerich Reading Room in OU’s Bizzell Memorial Library has ornate beamed ceilings for studying and contemplation.

Baylor University - Baylor’s Armstrong Browning Library houses the largest collection of Victorian poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The walls of the McLean Foyer of Meditation are adorned with quotes from Robert Browning’s poems.

North Carolina State University - The state of the art James B. Hunt Jr. Library features a robotics book retrieval system that can access up to 2 million volumes, as well as two 3-D printers.

Lehigh University - Designed by Philadelphia architect Addison Hutton in the 1870s, Linderman Library has undergone several major renovations to add study and storage space in the ensuing decades.

Loyola University Chicago - Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, the Information Commons offers breathtaking views of the Great Lake and the surrounding area.



University of Denver – The modern concrete and glass Anderson Academic Commons ties together many of DU’s libraries and offers versatile study zones. 

Rhodes College - Barret Library was designed by the firm of Hanbury Evans Wright and Vlattas and has been ranked among the country’s most beautiful libraries.