Interview: Robert Dawson, Author Of 'The Public Library' From one-room historic buildings to modern architectural marvels, Robert Dawson has been photographing libraries for almost 20 years. His new book is called The Public Library.

Check It Out! A Photographic Tour Of America's Public Libraries

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Robert Dawson has been on a journey for almost 20 years, photographing public libraries across the country. He's brought out a new book just in time for National Library Week, "The Public Library." And it includes reflections on libraries from the likes of Dr. Seuss, Amy Tan, E. B. White and many others. But the stars of the book are the photographs, from the Central New York Public Library, which is as splendid as any great European cathedral, to libraries that are in shacks and shopping malls. Robert Dawson joins us now from the studios of KQED in San Francisco. Thanks so much for being with us.

ROBERT DAWSON: Well, thank you.

SIMON: As we note, you've got some photographs of some very splendid interiors, including, for example, the New York Public Library. But maybe less to be expected, tell us about the Handley Regional Public Library in Winchester, VA.

DAWSON: Well, I have been born and raised and lived all my life in California. And so the American Civil War is something quite distant from my experience. But I'm always amazed when I travel in the east, the closeness of that period. So this was a library in Winchester that was built by a Confederate sympathizer and then, the library itself is this beautiful structure, both inside and out. But the walls inside were covered with portraits of Confederate generals, which really was sort of astonishing to me, and to see again, the closeness of that history.

SIMON: Did you ever feel, in shooting pictures of public libraries, that you have been in the process of documenting a vanishing species?

DAWSON: I often get that, people saying, oh, I'm glad you're doing that project because the libraries are going away. But in fact, according to the American Library Association, libraries are more used now than ever. And libraries are one of the few noncommercial, nonreligious institutions where people can gather. Libraries are evolving and one of the things, in some ways, that happens is they're less about books, and they're more about communities.

SIMON: You mention in the book, although it's not evident in the pictures, you were hit by a man in a library in Pennsylvania?

DAWSON: I was.

SIMON: You were screamed at in Duluth? Could you tell us these stories?

DAWSON: I think the man in Braddock, PA was a case in point. I was photographing the original Carnegie Library, the very first one. And it was, you know, quite an amazing experience for me. The interior Carnegie had produced was quite magnificent, and it had a swimming pool and a basketball court and, you know, as well as all the books. And then I went outside to photograph the exterior. And the entire project I did with a large-format 4-by-5 camera, so it's - I have to be under a dark cloth to focus the camera.

And the - at one point, while I was focusing, a hand reached in and tried to grab the camera. And I pushed it away and came out from under the dark cloth and was punched very strongly in the jaw. This man had thought I had photographed him. You know, he obviously was out of his mind. He had - who knows what his problem was - but the homeless population is something that librarians have to deal with in the libraries. It's not something they're necessarily trained to do. It's just an added thing. And I - you can't blame the libraries. It's - where do people go if they're on the streets?

SIMON: The Northeastern Nevada Regional Bookmobile, as the name implies, that's a library on wheels.

DAWSON: It is. And the librarian, actually, that drives that bookmobile, Kelvin Selters (ph), visits many, many small, rural, northeastern Nevada towns. He is the library, and he understands the importance of bringing books and other materials for people that are very isolated. You know, if you're in a really remote area, sometimes you don't have television. You don't have - you may not even have radio. And northeastern Nevada is one of the most isolated parts of the country in the 48 states. So this is a link to the outside world in many ways - physically, the books, but also just the ideas that there's a bigger world out there. And I saw this time and time again. It was kind of the one institution that I think people could begin to aspire to something bigger than themselves.

SIMON: Robert Dawson. His new book, "The Public Library." Happy Library Week to you, Mr. Dawson.

DAWSON: Thank you.

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