Situated at the Place du Panthéon in Paris, the Sainte Geneviève library is housed in a building which was constructed in 1851 by the architect Henri Labrouste. The reading room on the first stage is made up of a large hall, divided into two aisles by a central colonnade which supports two semicircular arc vaults. Perfectly symmetrical, the library takes on the aspect of a sacred monument dedicated to culture.