Dawson Library Gallery / Sara Urbaez / May 4, 2018 8:51 AM
Robert Dawson01The Abbey Library of Saint Gallen in Switzerland is decorated in an elaborate Baroque style. It's one of many Robert Dawson photographed for his series, which seeks to capture libraries both stunning and mundane.
Robert Dawson02The Russian State Library, formerly known as the Lenin State Library, was founded in 1862 in Moscow and has a collection of around 17.5 million books.
Robert Dawson03The Chekhov Library in Moscow is named after the great Russian playwright.
Robert Dawson04Completed in 2011, the strikingly modernist Stuttgart Public Library is housed in a perfect white cube.
Robert Dawson05A group of English volunteers established the Jungle Books Library in the Calais, France camp for Syrian refugees. Volunteers at the camp offered language lessons to the adult migrants and tutoring to the children.
Robert Dawson06At the Jungle Books Library in the Calais refugee camp, volunteers conduct free English language classes. Libraries are often the first places refugees go when they arrive at the site.
Robert Dawson07This simple, stocked public library in Legnica, Poland is housed in a former Masonic hall.
Robert Dawson08The Amsterdam Public Libraries' Central Library opened in 2007 and was designed by Dutch architect Jo Coenen.
Robert Dawson09The Dutchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, Germany, with a history dating back to the 16th century, was one of the country's first libraries to be made accessible to the public.
Robert Dawson10The reading room of the Russian State Library in Moscow, one of Europe's largest libraries.
Robert Dawson11The Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, Germany preserves materials ranging from the 9th to the 21st century. It also has a piano sometimes!
Robert Dawson12A uniformed guard stands watch at the Russian State Library in Moscow.
Robert Dawson13This rail station in the Dutch city of Haarlem boasts its own lending library for on-the-go bibliophiles.
Robert Dawson14The Baroque-style Wiblingen Abbey Library in Ulm, Germany is a former Benedictine abbey built in the 18th century that is now open to the public. It's also, apparently, possible to take wedding photos there.
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