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The Public Library: A Photographic Essay Hardcover – April 8, 2014

by Robert Dawson (Photographer), Ann Patchett (Afterword), Bill Moyers (Foreword)

84 ratings

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A gorgeous visual celebration of America's public libraries including 150 photos, plus essays by Bill Moyers, Ann Patchett, Anne Lamott, Amy Tan, Barbara Kingsolver, and many more.

Many of us have vivid recollections of childhood visits to a public library: the unmistakable musty scent, the excitement of checking out a stack of newly discovered books. Today, the more than 17,000 libraries in America also function as de facto community centers offering free access to the internet, job-hunting assistance, or a warm place to take shelter. And yet, across the country, cities large and small are closing public libraries or curtailing their hours of operation. Over the last eighteen years, photographer Robert Dawson has crisscrossed the country documenting hundreds of these endangered institutions. The Public Library presents a wide selection of Dawson's photographs— from the majestic reading room at the New York Public Library to Allensworth, California's one-room Tulare County Free Library built by former slaves. Accompanying Dawson's revealing photographs are essays, letters, and poetry by some of America's most celebrated writers. A foreword by Bill Moyers and an afterword by Ann Patchett bookend this important survey of a treasured American institution.

Print length

192 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Princeton Architectural Press
Publication date

April 8, 2014
Dimensions

8.25 x 1 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

9781616892173
ISBN-13

978-1616892173
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A book for anyone with a deep and abiding love of libraries. Dawson's latest project is a powerful argument for the continued relevance of our public libraries as information and community centers, even as libraries adapt to changing technological and budgetary landscapes." - Library Journal

"Dawson's project makes a powerful case for how public libraries serve communities in every corner of the country." - The New Yorker's Page Turner blog

"If you think all public libraries look pretty much the same, well, you need to take a look at this book. Oh, sure, there are plenty of grand ones, such as Philadelphia's own Central Library on the Parkway. But we also have the Fishtown Community Branch, featured in this volume, which used to be a firehouse and, before that, a stable. There's also the log cabin library in Cable, Wis. And many, many more, both grand and humble." - Philadelphia Inquirer

"This collection of photographs and texts of and about libraries--grand or dead, faded or sumptuous--make up a narrative that combines the public sphere with private memory. Robert Dawson's work is an irrefutable argument for the preservation of public libraries. His book is profound and heartbreakingly beautiful." -- Toni Morrison

"For book lovers, library denizens, and fans of architecture or Americana, The Public Library is a delight." - The Christian Science Monitor

"This beautifully crafted book celebrates public libraries across the U.S. in both color and black and white images captured by photographer Dawson over an 18-year period. Artfully arranged in such chapters as 'Civic Memory and Identity' and 'Literature and Learning,' the book includes a foreword by Bill Moyers and an afterword by Ann Patchett.. Dawson goes beyond the physical structures and touches on how viscerally and nostalgically Americans feel about public libraries, and suggests that, as a culture, we depend on them more than we know." - Publishers Weekly

"The Public Library is absolutely wonderful in its entirety, at once an ode to the glory of our most democratic institutions and a culturally necessary prompt to defend them like we would defend our freedom to live, learn, and be-a freedom to which the library is our highest celebration." - Brain Pickings

"Rich imagery of libraries across the national and cultural map, from cherished landmarks of the heartland to a Death Valley trailer parked in shade to lessen the heat. Add thoughtful text from the likes of Barbara Kingsolver to Amy Tan, and Dawson's subject goes beyond buildings to celebrate the civic realm." - San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Robert Dawson's photographs have been recognized by a Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Dorothea Lange-Paul Taylor Prize. He is an instructor of photography at San Jose State University and Stanford University.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 161689217X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton Architectural Press; F First Edition (April 8, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781616892173
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1616892173
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.05 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.25 x 1 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,021,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #910 in Photo Essays (Books)
- #1,253 in Art Encyclopedias
- #1,355 in Architectural Photography (Books)

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84 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Chad M

Fascinating look at library building architecture, interiors, as well as inspiring stories

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2019

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The library movement which began in the 1800s and gained momentum with Carnegie's endowment has been very successful. The library is an American institution in just about every community. There are grand city libraries with spacious reading rooms, modern style libraries, cabin-sized rural libraries, as well as libraries in dramatic natural settings. The majority of libraries remain vibrant but some, like their neighborhoods, have declined or been abandoned. Yet, every library has helped people. Here, the contributing authors speak of the role of the library in their lives.

Still, the main feature of this book are the photographs. There are traditional and contemporary versions of the public library (as well as university and private libraries, also very important but not the focus of this book). Quiet and stately rooms contrast with new city libraries with large rooms with rows of computers. New immigrants or working class people without their own internet connections in apartments depend on libraries, as do students, senior citizens, and parents (ex. audiovisual circulation is up 25% in the early 2000s even as leisure habits change, p. 33). Middle class people who like to browse, have time management challenges, or refrain from new and expensive magazine subscriptions also use the libraries (as I write this, there is a new library audiobook playing in the background).

Perhaps one idea that can be gained from this book is that library buildings can be as diverse as their home communities -- from city to suburb to rural village, or military base or shopping district -- but the spirit of library and belief in the free access to knowledge is universal throughout the 50 states.

In addition, civic pride is supported by the library system ("The civic memory of our nation's communities is often housed in their local public libraries. … Libraries are a source of local pride where communities form bonds through shared experiences, memories, and hopes.", p. 61; consider also how public library systems support quality of life and human development, as listed in "The Economist" Pocket World in Figures 2018, p. 28-29). At the same time, the library staff support this sense of local pride in an enlightened and not in a selfish way, accentuating the positive and avoiding (but not denying) the negative aspects of life, learning, history, and culture. These practices, in turn, set a good example for how people can use the knowledge they obtain during their reading and research.

The wide range of photos in this book and the personal stories indicate a need to balance preservation with progress, tradition and innovation. Libraries were long ago the realm of the elites, now public libraries and the internet make books, music, art, research papers, and data widely accessible ("Spreading Enlightenment" by Luis Herrera, p. 106-107). Whether the general public has the moral character to use knowledge properly is another question.

One person found this helpful

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Dacita Bruno

A most for those who love history and architecture.

Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2021

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Beautiful book!! Outstanding pictures! Great reading about an American treasure: libraries!!!!

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2014

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Robert Dawson's lovingly and painstakingly produced photographic survey of a disappearing but tenaciously surviving public resource -- the local public library -- is a testament to its enduring value as a cultural resource, as an open-access storehouse of human knowledge and wisdom, and as a bastion of democracy. Bill Moyer's nostalgic, informative, and inspiring foreword; reflections by literary luminaries such as E. B. White, Amy Tan, Barbara Kingsolver, Philip Levine, Isaac Asimov, Dr. Suess, Anne Lamott, and others; and Ann Patchett's afterword provide a rich context for viewing Dawson's 18-years-in-the-making photographic survey, which records the incredible depth, breadth, and sheer variety of libraries that, together, comprise "An American Common" ever threatened by budget cuts and the vicissitudes of culture. To quote Bill Moyers: "Who knows where the emerging new commons will take us? But Robert Dawson shows us in this collection what is at stake: when a library is open, no matter what its size or shape, democracy is open, too."

10 people found this helpful

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Small Format Hurts Presentation

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2014

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Robert Dawson is a serious architectural photographer. Using different size formats he has been able to produce some very beautiful photographs of American public libraries. Unfortunately, the medium sized format of this book does not give his photos the proper space to be best exhibited. His work would have been better presented in a larger "coffee table" sized book.

At its heart, "The Public Library" is a study of a building type. Public libraries run from the very elaborate to the most humble building types. It is fascinating the see such variance. It just goes to remind me the reader that the United States is continent sized and that libraries can be so different from community to community.

6 people found this helpful

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maggie b

A Beautiful Way to Look At Why We Need Libraries

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2019

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If you already love and appreciate libraries, you'll enjoy this book. If you don't yet use or know much about the value of libraries, I think you will find it interesting and enlightening.

Through a beautifully photographed representative survey of public libraries in our United States with commentary by people whose lives have been directly influenced by being in them, it conveys how much we need their rich community resources for the good health of our democratic hopes and dreams.

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Mark Pfennigstag

One of the best on the subject.

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2016

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As a retired public library and academic library employee, and bibliophile, I found this book to be quite satisfactory. The author and his son spent years locating and documenting libraries around the country - immense and tiny, traditional and modern, city and country. The Library of Congress considered the work to be of such value that it purchased his entire collection of images, negatives, digital images, and notes for its archive.
The photography is excellent. The texts by prominent personalities and popular authors are thought provoking. The reproduction is superb.

4 people found this helpful

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joyce

A national treasure of old and many abandoned libraries

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2014

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This book is a visual delight of photos of libraries across the USA, many now not in use. A beautiful and sometimes sad picture of today's literary landscape. I'm glad it was captured by the camera before they were lost. Perhaps it will spur reclaiming and preserving the past where people hadn't thought to do so..

4 people found this helpful

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Barbara Howell

Amazing history and updated view of our public libraries!

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2014

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I purchased this book for two members of our library board. One of them is giving up on the library as they think that technology is taking over and that younger generations don't want books. The other is totally committed to preserving books in libraries and adding the technology as a tool, not a book replacement. I also bought one for councilman to educate them as to the incredible worth of libraries as documented in the fantastic book!

One person found this helpful

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