First Airport Library: Schiphol Airport Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will be the world's first permanent airport library.  Travelers can spend time reading, watching films or listening to music while waiting for their flights.

Scheduled to open in July, has it opened? Anyone been yet? It's July 31, and I haven't found any one who knows, so if you've been through the airport lately, let me know. Thanks.

This project was set-up by the ProBiblio Dutch public library organization with money from the ministry of education, culture and science. According to project leader Dick van Tol, the collection is very diverse. “It will be a multimedia venture and will include different aspects of Dutch culture. There won't just be books, but also films and music.”

Alas, visitors will not be allowed to take books, DVDs or other items away, but there is a separate ‘download room’. A new device allows visitors to not only watch films, but also to download them to mobile phones. “So you can watch them again on the plane or when you're at home,” explains Mr Van Tol. The Airport Library is supposedly located beyond passport control and only accessible to people with a ticket for a flight. Most of the collection will be in English, but there will be Dutch material.