s. o. m. 
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Yale University identified a requirement for a new rare book library in the 50's.  It was expected that the building would house the existing collection safely for a continued period of time.  A greater hope however was that the building would attract new donations.  The simplicity and stunning impact of the Beinecke Library have had tremendous results in attracting new donations.  In 1964 the building won an AIA-ALA award.  Although the modernist style of the bulding has fallen from favour it still serves as an exciting precedent.

 

Most of the library is actually below grade.  The large plaza in front of the library is the roof of the library below.  This works well since the books cannot be exposed to natural light.  It also lessens the heating and cooling loads on the building.  The one concern is that the roof / plaza floor might leak.  To avoid this problem the rare book stacks are all one storey below the roof.  As a result any leaks in the roof will wet areas such as administration and study areas which are not critical.  A sunken court provides day light to the spaces such as reading rooms which are located below grade. 
As can be seen from the photo, the main space is dominated by six floors of rare book stacks.  The stacks are oriented so that the book spines are visible and the entire volume is enclosed with glass.  This transforms the stacks into a giant display case.  The simplicity of this technique makes for a spectacular space. This is however a symbolic space since most of the collection is stored out of site in the underground portions of the building.