Photobook Libraries Around The World

Photobooks are like journals to photographers, an archival art piece for photographic artists. Some photobooks can even be seen as history books, as they record culture and life during a certain time, revealing a time in the past. As Zontiga has recently set up our very own photobook library, with over 200 titles free to view, we’d like to also introduce other photobook libraries that are available around the world.

[ LONDON, Photobook Café ]

The Photobook Café in London is a community café, gallery and a photobook library based in Shoreditch, London. They are built on a passion for photobooks and traditional darkroom practice, married with a love for food and drinks. They also provide a space for book launches, talks and exhibitions, as well as photography workshops to cultivate the love for photography. 

[ NEW YORK, International Center of Photography (ICP) Library ]

Founded by Cornell Capa in honour of his photojournalist brother, the legendary Robert Capa. Initially, Cornell wanted to champion “concerned photography” – the creation of socially and politically-minded images as he recognized the potential to educate and change the world. Now, it is dedicated to the entire discipline of photography, containing over 20,000 books, artist files and periodicals, as well as event space for exhibitions and book launches, all with the aim to provide information and inspiration to photography-lovers.

[ DUBLIN, The Library Project ]

The Library Project acts as a cultural hub, with a multidisciplinary approach, specialising and focusing on photography. Situated at the heart of Temple Bar, it operates as a bookshop, library and gallery, hosting a variety of events and exhibitions relating to art and photography.

[ TAIPEI, Lightbox Photo Library ]

With their vision to “co-create a more open, just and inclusive culture with photography”, Lightbox Photo Library is a non-profit photography library snuggly situated in the heart of Taipei, Taiwan. They hope to be the home to Taiwan photography, providing a space to research, learning and discussion on the discourse of photography. Acting in line with their noble vision, they took on the heavy responsibility of collecting and organizing publications of all Taiwanese photography, hosting talks, lectures and workshops to trigger thoughts and actions, cultivating a photographic culture that belongs to Taiwan.

[ TOKYO, Japan Camera Industry Institute (JCII) Library ]

The Japan Camera Industry Institute (JCII) Library was established with the aim to expose as many people possible to cameras and the history of photography, to educate about the discipline, to preserve photography and film culture, as well as to contribute to the further development of the said culture. It houses the JCII Camera Museum that showcases various types of cameras from around the world. They also house the JCII Photo Salon which provides the space for photography exhibitions. Last but not least, the JCII library that specialises in photography books and also offers photography classes and rental of darkrooms, galleries and studios.

   

[ SELANGOR, Zontiga Photobook Library ]

Last but not least, our very own Zontiga Photobook Library was recently established, dedicated entirely to the discipline of photography, with the aim to be the one-stop resource for all. We house an extensive collection of photobooks, out-of-prints, zines, journals and more. We also provide a space for photography exhibitions, workshops and talks, in hopes to contribute to the development of the photographic culture in Malaysia.

Check out more about Zontiga Photobook Library here.

All photos above are from their respective websites.