The Public Library:  A Photographic Essay, Robert Dawson, 2014

Dawson, an accomplished photographer living in San Jose, CA, put over 30,000 miles on his car travelling around the US taking photographs of public libraries from Vermont (well represented with Vershire, Newport, St. Johnsbury, and Darby) to California, from Alaska to Texas.  The photographs are accompanied by original essays by Bill Moyers and Ann Patchett and by contributions from Philip Levine, Anne Lamott, Barbara Kingsolver, Charles Simic and others.  It’s an informative and inspiring overview both general and specific about the role that public libraries play in our society.  Perhaps the most democratic governmental institution, the library provides open access and services to all—literacy training, computer availability for job hunts, etc, and, of course, books.  Dawson spends his summers in VT ‘in a cabin’ and I look forward to hearing him read in Hanover in late July.  This is a terrific contribution to the ‘book literature’.