Dillon, Montana, USA

Defining Main Street: The Bookstore. There was a time when only big cities had bookstores. Then, shopping malls multiplied their numbers. And then, big-box stores shot onto the scene, and some of them were devoted to books. Recently, Amazon deliveries and digital purchases have come to dominate. Meanwhile, the Main Street book store chugs along. [2020]

Ritzville, Washington, USA

Defining Main Street: The Public Library. Although the public library had been well established in American life by the 1880s, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie added jet fuel to the building trends. If a local community would support a public library, he would built it. Yes, architectural standards were in force. [2019]

Evansville, Indiana, USA

Unexpectedly Funny! Who do you think is going to be borrowing the books in this little free library? These libraries-in-a-box are usually placed closer to the souls to who still have the capacity to read, e.g., near churches, on town squares, or on court house lawns. Could this be the only one in a cemetery? [2022]

Falls City, Nebraska, USA

These are the raw materials of all great literature and all higher mathematics. Everything comes down to 26 letters and 10 numerals. Letters ⇒ Words ⇒ Expressions ⇒ Sentences ⇒ Paragraphs ⇒ Books + Poems + Plays ⇒ William Shakespeare ⇋ Virginia Woolf ⇋ Jack Kerouac. See what you can do with limited resources! [2007]

Hagerman, Idaho, USA

"A book is a dream you hold in your hands." Like libraries everywhere, the one in Hagerman seeks to inspire a love of reading, a love of learning, and a love of dreaming. Maybe we should draw more inspirational quotes out of the books in that building and put them all over town. What would you pick for the gas station next door? [2020]

San Diego, California, USA

San Deigo wants to be a world city of the first order, but right up the road is Los Angeles. How can California's Mexican gateway compete? Maybe a sculpture by Jaume Plensa will do the trick. Meet the Pacific Soul that now sits in the city's downtown. Its armor consists of letters from eight different alphabets. Very international, indeed! [2020]

Princeton, New Jersey, USA

Wonder what that man is reading? Check it out below. Forty-six years ago today, Richard Nixon resigned: "He urges a time of healing." How the world has changed since then! The printed newspaper has almost become a thing of the past, and Presidents now defy the rules of law and ethics with impunity. [2018]

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

It could be a church, but there is no cross on top. Even the library-in-a-box (not to mention the Romanesque shell) suggests a place of worship. Whoever had this built wanted to be taken as seriously as God-fearing Christians take God. They even wanted to lift your eyes to the heavens with that steeple. Sorry, 'tower.' Think it might be a county courthouse? [2019]

Ekalaka, Montana, USA

When Ekalaka celebrates the "Days of '85," Main Street starts to look like Mr. Rogers' neighborhood. (Good movie, by the way.) In 1885, the street would have been shared with horses, but today the horses are at the rodeo, just outside of town. [2019]

El Dorado, Arkansas, USA

The classic red telephone box belongs in Britain, but here it is in Arkansas. Since no one uses pay phones anymore, El Dorado has turned it into a "Downtown Book Exchange." Even re-purposed, however, it makes this small town feel more like a world city. [2018]

Hallowell, Maine, USA

Why the pinwheels? Because they have become a symbol of safe and great childhoods for all children. Let your local public library help achieve that goal in your community. By the way, the building was never a church, but it was designed to look like one. [2019]

Monroe, Michigan, USA

Faux Animal Characters: Here's a beloved character right out of "kiddie lit": Little Brown Bear. His life was chronicled by Marjorie Upham in the 1940s and 50s. Now, he helps honor his creator outside the Monroe Public Library. But, where is Little Grey Goose? [2008]

Rome, Italy

Why is it always a surprise to find American fiction being read around the world? Not just read, but read in a language other than English. Think about it: Spanish Steps, European reader, American author, English original, Italian translation. and (probably) Finnish cell phone. Patricia Cornwell and Dr. Kay Scarpetta would be proud. [2002]

New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, USA

The Church of God seems to be doing the work of God by keeping its Neighborhood Blessing Box stocked with a few food items that will tide families over until the next pay check arrives. "Take what you need. Give what you can." It may not work everywhere, but New Cumberland is a special town. [2017]

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Some books are larger than life, and that would include the tomes outside the Cincinnati Public Library. They don't seem to have titles, but you could add them in your mind's eye. What books would you like to honor because they made a difference in your life? Use the answer as a conversation starter during National Library Week, April 9-15. [2013]

Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

Summer sessions are about over. Fall semester classes convene in just a few weeks. Graduation looms closer and closer on the horizon. Then, life really begins. [2007]

Yerevan, Armenia

Jaume Plensa is among the great public artists of the contemporary world, but here in Yerevan one of his sculptures is far from unique and totally out of place. Not unique? Variations on this theme appear all over the world. Out of place? Look at the elements of design! Letters from the Armenian alphabet would have made the genius loci lots happier. [2015]

Girona, Catalonia, Spain

Welcome to the first day of National Library Week. Can you envision the time when a five-year-old looks up at these book piles and asks: What's that grandpa? Yet, libraries have never been busier! [2005]

Hong Kong S.A.R., China

If you brought in some anthropologists of the future to pick through corner culture off Nathan Road in Hong Kong, what would they conclude? By the early 21st century (a) print media was still hanging on; (b) English was the most important language in a Chinese-speaking city; and (c) glamour and sports were the critical concerns of the day. [2011]

Des Moines, Iowa, USA

When 'Nomade' was first installled, it stood in front of the public library. Look what it's made from. Don't you think that's a perfect tie-in? Just think: All the knowledge we have in the western world comes down to just 26 letters. Sculptor: Jaume Plensa. [2008]