Over the last eighteen years, photographer Robert Dawson documented hundreds of public libraries throughout the United States. The Public Library presents an inspiring selection of his work—libraries grand and modest, from the reading room at the New York Public Library to Allensworth, California’s one-room Tulare County Free Library, built by former slaves. Essays, letters, and poetry by distinguished writers and librarians complete this impassioned tribute to a vibrant but threatened American institution. With a foreword by Bill Moyers and an afterword by Ann Patchett. Additional contributors include Isaac Asimov, Walker Dawson, Luis Herrera, Barbara Kingsolver, Anne Lamott, Dorothy Lazard, Philip Levine, David Morris, Stuart A. P. Murray, Kevin K. Selders, Dr. Seuss, Charles Simic, Amy Tan, Chip Ward, and E. B. Whit
