Library: The Drama Within

by Diane Asséo Griliches

Anyone who loves books has a fondness for libraries, but few of us have a sense of their infinite variety. Diane Asséo Griliches has photographed all kinds of libraries, from the grand reading room in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris to the humble remodeled train depot that serves as the library in Cleveland, Mississippi. Accompanying her exquisite duotone photographs is a wise and witty essay by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Daniel Boorstin, who was Librarian of Congress from 1975 to 1987.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography, Books About Books, History, Architecture

144 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1996

Reviews

[Linda Spyhalski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was copyrighted in 1996 and it is an older library book that was discarded. It was an amazing book with wonderful pictures of libraries all over the world done in black and white and with quotes and a short discription of each of them. My favorite library was the Redwood Library and Athenaeum in Newport, Rhode Island and favorite quote was, "When I got my library card, that's when my life began by Rita Mae Brown. It was hard to choose because there was so many meaningful quotes!

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures, my only wish is to see some of them in person one day or at least in color. Very sad to read when libraries are destroyed or abandoned. I love to visit libraries when I go on vacation to a new place.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

One can never read too many books about libraries. This is mainly a photography book, with a small explanation of where and when the photograph was taken, along with a writerly quote. The usual suspects are there : the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris, the Pierpont Morgan Library, the Widener Library at Harvard. But there are a few pictures of small-town libraries, often largely staffed by volunteers. One or two pictures are really sad, like a photograph of a 3-room Hungarian library in Jerusalem (for those older Hungarian immigrants who are having a hard time learning Hebrew), or a 1991 picture of the National Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, which was bombed by the Serbs in 1992 in an attempt to wipe out an ethnic culture.

The book is introduced by a thoughtful essay by an emeritus librarian of the Library of Congress, who cogently argues that books are not yet going the way of the dinosaur.

[Carolann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this four stars.

I was very disappointed not to see one Library from Pennsylvania or New Jersey mentioned.


I understand the Author must have had limited time and space.

My heart still fell a little though.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania aren't New York, or even MA for that matter.
That doesn't mean though that we don't have some beautiful looking Libraries or aren't as important.

[Nancy Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is not to love of beautiful black-and-white photographs. From the grand reading room in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, to the humble remodeled train depot that serves as the library in Cleveland, Mississippi, Diane Asseo Griliches has created beautiful images. The quotes and essays also reinforce the need to keep our libraries intact and vibrant.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous photos with perfect accompanying quotes.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous photos with perfect accompanying quotes. Lovely book!

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The introduction is pretty outdated, and I wish there was more information about how each library was chosen, but this is a really nice coffee table book.

[Mary Havens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accompanying book to a set of library related postcards I used in college to decorate my dorm. :)