There is a building sitting at the heart of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus that most visitors walk past without ever stepping inside, and that is a genuine shame. Love Library — formally the Don L. Love Memorial Library — is one of those rare places where grandeur and everyday life collide in the most satisfying way. It is open to the public, it costs nothing to enter, and it holds more surprises per square foot than almost anywhere else in the city.
The library anchors the academic core of UNL, sitting just off City Campus Drive in a spot that puts you squarely among the beautiful red-brick buildings and wide green lawns that define this part of Lincoln. When you push through those front doors, the first thing you notice is the scale of it. The main building rises several stories, its stacks running deep, the ceilings generous, the natural light filtering in through tall windows. There is a quiet energy here — students hunched over laptops, researchers pulling oversized volumes from shelves, the occasional professor striding through with a stack of journals tucked under one arm. It feels alive in a way that only a genuinely used, genuinely loved institution can.
What makes Love Library remarkable for a visitor, beyond just its beauty, is the range of what it holds. The Special Collections and University Archives, located on the fourth floor, are an absolute treasure. Here you will find rare books, historical photographs, Nebraska newspapers dating back more than a century, and rotating exhibits drawn from the collection. On any given visit, you might encounter an exhibit on the history of Great Plains agriculture, a display of early 20th-century campus life, or beautifully illustrated natural history manuscripts. The staff there are approachable and genuinely enthusiastic — if you have even a passing interest in Nebraska history or American literature, give yourself permission to spend an hour browsing.
The lower level connects to the newer Love Library South addition, which expanded the building significantly and added modern study spaces, more digital resources, and a comfortable atmosphere that bridges the classic and contemporary. Wander between the two sections and you get a satisfying sense of an institution that respects its past while investing in its future.
Even if archives are not your thing, the building itself is worth the visit. The lobby displays public art, the reading rooms have a timeless quality that invites you to slow down, and the view from the upper floors across campus toward Memorial Stadium is genuinely lovely on a clear Nebraska afternoon.
Downtown Lincoln and the Haymarket are only a short walk or drive from campus, so it is easy to fold Love Library into a broader afternoon of exploring. Stop in, look up, and let yourself get a little lost in the stacks. Lincoln has been telling its own story for a long time, and this is one of the best places to hear it.
