There seems to be a fundamental duality between having access to research libraries and having a place to read books from these research libraries. Perhaps its epistemological -- it only seems like there's a lot of books because there's nowhere nearby to read them after the stacks close. Especially now that the Starbucks have followed the gyms and gone to Disneyworld hours -- no more midnight Americanos or 4AM workouts.
The reading room in New York is actually spectacular. I'm hardly a monarchist, especially when it comes to other nations, but the land was a gift of the sovereign, back when the salient bit was the enormous aboveground reservoir next door.
And one does have to take a historical view of things, if there is to be meaning in the world, as Heidegger indicated to a perplexed Arendt who noticed him genuflect in a country church. I happened to be in the south half of the room when BBC went to the national anthem after announcing the death of the sovereign. Centuries later, unnoticed, a fellow quietly stood for the anthem of the neighboring nation.