The public library

The public library

Book - 2014

"Many of us have vivid recollections of childhood visits to the public library: the unmistakable, slightly musty scent, the excitement of checking out a stack of newly-discovered books. Today's libraries also function as de facto community centers, and offer free access to the Internet, job-hunting assistance, or a warm place to take shelter along with the endless possibilities that spark your imagination the moment you open the cover of a book. There are more than 17,000 public libraries in America. Over the last eighteen years, photographer Robert Dawson has traveled the nation, documenting hundreds of these institutions--from Alaska to Florida, New England to the West Coast. The Public Library presents a wide selection of Dawso...n's photographs, revealing a vibrant, essential, yet seriously threatened system. Essays, letters, and poetry by a collection of America's most celebrated writers--including E. B. White, Isaac Asimov, Anne Lamott, Amy Tan, Charles Simic, Dr. Seuss, and Philip Levine, as well as the voices of dedicated librarians working today--are woven with photographs of the majestic reading room at the New York Public Library; the one-room Tulare County Free Library built by former slaves, in Allensworth, California; the architectural wonder of Seattle's glass and steel Central Library; and the Berkeley, California tool lending library; among many others. A foreword by Bill Moyers and an afterword by Ann Patchett bookend this important survey of a treasured American institution"--

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Subjects
Public libraries.
Libraries and society.
Libraries and community.
Library users.
Published
New York : Princeton Architectural Press [2014]
Language
English
Other Authors
Robert Dawson, 1950- (-)
Item Description
Includes essays, letters, and poetry by a collection of American writers and librarians.
Physical Description
191 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. 190).
ISBN
9781616892173
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

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. Writers, including Anne Lamott, Barbara Kingsolver, and Amy Tan, share childhood experiences at their local libraries and the significance this sanctuary had on their literary development. Throughout, Dawson contrasts libraries of different sizes and locales: from those in poor, rural towns to those in bustling cities; from what used to be libraries but are now abandoned structures to architectural marvels. These buildings speak to the breadth, scope, and makeup of America, and how libraries provide culture, computers, and sometimes shelter. In addition, Dawson touches on the fragile nature of these institutions, which he feels are vital to our well-being as a nation. He challenges the notion of what a library looks like-some are scarcely bigger than a one-room house or share space with the local post office. 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. 150 photos. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

A book for anyone with a deep and abiding love of libraries, Dawson's photo essay sheds light on this central pillar of communities of all sizes. The project began informally in 1994 but crystallized into something more concrete as Dawson spent the summers of 2011 and 2012 photographing libraries with specific characteristics (remote locations, urban centrality, citizenry living in poverty or affluence, and racial demographics) to gain a sense of the diversity in library services, collections, and architectures. What results is a look at libraries in major urban centers and their rural counterparts; some photographs show readers' bustle and activity, while others reveal the melancholy of closed and shuttered library facilities. VERDICT With essays and reflections from those deeply immersed in the realm of books, reading, and ideas-Ann Patchett, Barbara Kingsolver, Bill Moyers, Anne Lamott, librarians, and other lovers 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. Aside from appealing to library-loving readers, this pictorial work has much to entertain those with an interest in the architectural history of public spaces.-Rachael Dreyer, American Heritage Ctr., Laramie, WY (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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