Twin lions crouch, lending a certain wild and regal vigour to the pursuit of knowledge.--Melvin Maddocks Anyone who loves books has a fondness for libraries, but few of us have a sense of their infinite variety. Diane Asseo Griliches has photographed libraries all over the world, 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. Libraries are inhabited by books and people. Diane Asseo Griliches has photographed not only the magnificent walls of books and tables full of students at the Biblioteca Marucelliana in Florence, and the library in Sarajevo, which has since been destroyed, but also the homeless seeking shelter, children using their library cards for the first time, patient librarians, lovers in the stacks, and a wealth of other human dramas that take place inside libraries. From the introduction by John Y. Cole, Director of The Center for the Book In the Library of Congress: As this compelling collection of photographs by Diane Asseo Griliches makes clear, somehow there is nothing quite as poignant--or as meaningful--as the magical combination of library, book, and individual reader. In my case, and perhaps for you as well, Griliches's compassionate photographs bring back the memory of my first public library. Her succinct and informative statements accompanying the photographs often do the same. Here are three of my favorites, all from people who eventually became writers: When I got my library card, that's when my life began (Rita Mae Brown); There was something. . .that made me restless with the need to grab up every book, press into every single mind right there on the open shelves (Alfred Kazin); and I was there on a more exciting mission: the discovery of the world (Pete Hamill). Twin lions are traced back to ancient Egypt and were guardians of the gates of morning and evening, strength and the intellect. These two were carved by Louis St. Gaudens for the Boston Public Library.