The Conference

Early in 2012 we met with Dr Matthew Day from Newman University Birmingham and began to plan a conference to celebrate the opening of the new Birmingham Library. Inspired by The Library of Lost Books the conference would take the theme of resurrecting the book. 

After the early meetings between LoLB and Newman University other partners were bought on board; Debbie Mynott from Birmingham based community interest company Digital Ink Drop and Caroline Archer from Typographic Hub at Birmingham City University. Along with Matthew, Debbie and Caroline have taken on the bulk of the work organising and developing the conference.

Library of Lost Books artists Maureen Duke and Linda Carreiro will be speaking at the conference. Linda's paper The Odyssey: Exile and Return in The Library of Lost Books will discuss her personal response to The Library of Lost Books project, a means to both reinvent and preserve the book we sent her, ANALECTA GRÆCA MAJORA. Exploring her artistic practice of manipulating discarded tomes and literary texts, she will explain the journey of the book, while posing larger questions about the fate of these beloved forms.

Sarah Bodman from the Center for Fine Print Research will be giving a paper entitled Dear Reader. This talk will show some examples of how national and international artists are using the book today as a means to publish and share their ideas with their audience. Library of Lost Books curator, Susan Kruse will also be giving a short talk about the creation of the project.

The conference plenary speakers will be Professor Sir David Cannadine from Princeton University, Dr David Pearson Director of Culture, Heritage & Libraries, City of London Corporation, Professor Nicholas Pickwoad, University of the Arts, London and Professor Johanna Drucker from the University of California.

The conference runs from the 15th to 17th November, at the Library of Birmingham. For more information visit the conference website at http://resurrectingthebook.org/