The Sainte-Geneviève Library in Paris was designed by Henri Labrouste and built from 1838 to 1851 at 10 place du Panthéon, in the 5th arrondissement. The building was completed in December 1850 and opened to the public on February 4, 1851.
The style is academic Beaux-Arts, influenced by Florence and Rome, with an original iron-and-glass interior. It has a Roman-inspired base with simple arched windows and measures about 278 by 69 feet (85 by 21 m) over two stories. In the reading room on the upper floor, sixteen slender cast-iron Ionic columns divide the space into twin aisles, and openwork iron arches carry plaster barrel vaults.
The reading room was designed for 60,000 books, with 40,000 more in reserve,. The library was classified as a national historic monument in 1992. It is now the principal inter-university library in Paris and holds about 2 million documents.
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