In 2014, the National Library of Latvia (NLL) relocated to a new building, the Castle of Light / Gaismas pils, which brought together five former sites. The long-awaited new building significantly improved both the conditions for preservation of the collections and the reader services. The Castle provides spacious and cosy reading rooms as well as many individual and group work carrels and training spaces. Furthermore, the building features conference and concert facilities, exhibition rooms and other event spaces, providing a performance platform for the events of the Library and other institutions. The Castle of Light has become an icon of the city and encompasses many current trends of contemporary philosophy of library buildings: it is open, lucid, technologically abundant, multifunctional, flexible and extraordinary. Meanwhile the NLL explores the strategies of balancing traditional library services and event management.
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