Top of page

Book Mountain, Bibliotheek Spijkennese, The Netherlands. Photo by Robert Dawson, ©2016. Used with permission. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppbd.04207

Library Photos by Robert Dawson

Share this post:

The following is a guest post by Helena Zinkham, Chief, Prints & Photographs Division.

In celebration of National Library Week (April 23-29, 2023), please take a moment to enjoy a brand new acquisition in the Prints & Photographs Division – “The Global Library Project” by master photographer Robert Dawson. The theme of National Library Week is “There’s More to the Story,” which is the perfect description for Dawson’s work.

Tulare County Free Library, Allensworth, CA. Photo by Robert Dawson, ©1995. Used with permission. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppss.00853

From 1994 to 2015, Dawson photographed more than 500 public libraries throughout the United States, often traveling more than 11,000 miles at a time on summer road trips with his son Walker Dawson. The images document the wide range of America’s public libraries in locations ranging from big cities to small towns, shopping malls to national parks.

Map librarian, National Library, Kiev, Ukraine. Photo by Robert Dawson, ©2016. Used with permission. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppbd.04210

In 2016, Dawson and his family expanded their journey to include libraries worldwide. In Dawson’s own words, “The Global Library Project seeks to document the important role of public libraries throughout the world in engaging and supporting an informed citizenry.”

Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, Florence, Italy. Photo by Robert Dawson, ©2018. Used with permission. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppbd.04211

The Library of Congress has purchased 660 born-digital photographs that show people using libraries and the remarkably varied architecture of libraries in 11 Western and Eastern European countries and Israel.

The Dawsons are currently photographing libraries in Mexico and plan to show more of the story of libraries in Central and South America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania.

Learn More:

Comments (2)

  1. Hi,
    I loved the series of photographs. But please note that Book Mountain (De Boekenberg) is in Spijkenisse (Netherlands) … not Spijkennese 🙂
    Kind regards,
    Guy
    www bibliotheekdeboekenberg nl

    • Thank you so much for writing in, we will make that correction!

Add a Comment

This blog is governed by the general rules of respectful civil discourse. You are fully responsible for everything that you post. The content of all comments is released into the public domain unless clearly stated otherwise. The Library of Congress does not control the content posted. Nevertheless, the Library of Congress may monitor any user-generated content as it chooses and reserves the right to remove content for any reason whatever, without consent. Gratuitous links to sites are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments. We further reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove a user's privilege to post content on the Library site. Read our Comment and Posting Policy.


Required fields are indicated with an * asterisk.