The Public LibraryThe Public Library

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 eighteen years, photographer Robert Dawson crisscrossed the country documenting hundreds of these endangered institutions. The Public Library presents a wide selection of his 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 them are essays, letters, and poetry by some of America's most celebrated writers.