ARLIS/NA 2014, Washington D.C.

Sponsored by George Mason University Libraries

Speakers:
Artists’ Books as Catalysts for Ecological Transformation- Mo Dawley, Art and Drama Librarian and Senior Librarian at Carnegie Mellon University
Power of the Arts to Speak: The Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Project at IUPUI- Sonja Staum-Kuniej, Director, Herron Art Library, IUPUI
Artists' Books and Zines on Wheels: How Read/Write Library Promotes Our Non-Circulating Collection- Amanda Meeks, Chicago Read/Write Library and Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Moderator:
Michelle Strizever, Archivist, SEARCH

Artists’ books are inherently radical, political objects, transforming expectations of what a book can be. Book art collections also challenge accepted bibliographic standards and subvert conventional systems of access, reference, and preservation. As librarians build and provide access to book art collections, they may also take on the subversiveness of their acquisitions.

This panel will explore the ways that librarians are practicing activist collection development, access, and outreach strategies for artists’ books. It will ask: How are librarians and curators honoring, encouraging, and building upon the radicalism of their collections? An exploration of BiblioTreka, a cargo bike that provides access to books and zines through pop-up events, a view into the collaborative, interactive, and cross-cultural Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Project, and a discussion on artists’ books as the impetus for political and environmental change will lead this conversation.