book patrol

Books on Books: The Painted Version

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:52:00 +0000

Talk about a book on books!

Can anyone help identify the piece? There are some mentions that it is by John Martin and is called "Hombre Leyendo en una Librería" (Man reading in a library) but I have been unable to confirm.

UPDATE:
Case resolved -Image is by John Martin, Man reading in a library - Thanks Charles

Cover illustration for the 1993 French Edition of Gerard Bessette's Le libraire . Originally published in 1960 (translated as Not for Every Eye)

The book painting brings to mind the work of Mike Stilkey whose latest commission was this piece for the flagship store of Hong Kong luxury retail giant Joyce.

Previously on book patrol:
Pop Surrealism Meets the Book
The Book Painting of Mike Stilkey

Hail to the Book! A couple of booksellers get physical

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:38:00 +0000

"if they are [books] to be of any use they must be as living friends or acquaintances and the whole art of forming and keeping a library consists in treating them on this footing alike mentally and materially" - from Books in the house by Alfred William Pollard, 1904

In this video, London booksellers Adrian Harrington and Jonathan Kearnes take us on a 15 minute tactile journey focusing on the physical, irreplaceable nature of the book object.

Whether it is Harrington tying together the long history, from Dickens to Harry Potter, of books being the launching pad for cultural stardom to Kearnes reminding us that a well-made book can outlast all of us, it becomes clear that these two men are passionately committed to the book.

Neither shun technology, nor see it as an end all for the printed book. They, like me, see these emerging technologies as a perfect complement to the book and not as a replacement.

And I don't know about you but I prefer my books to live in my house as opposed to living in some cloud.

A Trip Across America with the Dickman's

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Wed, 23 May 2012 02:20:00 +0000

With Memorial Day around the corner and summer ahead this is the time of year when many of us start thinking road trip. Regardless of our mode; car, bike, plane, train or ..., the goal is to get out there and have some fun.

One item you might want to consider bringing along with you is the latest book from poetry's rising dynamic duo, Matthew & Michael Dickman. 50 American Plays (Poems) is a 52 act (don't forget Guam and Puerto Rico) fun-filled parade through America.

From the singing jews and dancing blacks of Walt Disney Doesn't Give a Shit About Florida to Sacagewea's fevered exclamation "I'm on a coin!" from Sacagewea in Oregon; the Dickman's give each state an often hilarious one-page salute.

If you are not familiar with the Dickman's they are identical twins with very different styles and a uniform love of books and poetry. A 2009 profile in The New Yorker (abstract only) catapulted them from the confines of the Pacific Northwest to the national stage and there has been no stopping them ever since.

Even if you don't have plans to get away the book will surely provide a brief respite from your familiar surroundings and if you are looking for an easy re-entry into poetry this is a great place to start.

Here are a couple of poems from the collection to wet your appetite:

Maine Seafood Company

(Salt)

A LOBSTER.
           Once out of the box
           The wooden box
           The metal box
           The box, the box, the box
           Dragged up from the salt

           Things don't feel too bad

           And then they do

           And then they don't

(And waves)

The Moonlight in Arkansas is Almost a Song

MOONLIGHT.

The way the trees

All down Main Street

Seem to drip

With silver acetone

How the newly new buildings

Cast themselves

Against the past—

That entire neighborhoods

Look like black-

And-white movies

A lot of the pain disappears into the backlit edges of hedges

Some people

Are dancing beneath

Broken streetlights

You are

***************************************
Enjoy the trip!

50 American Plays (Poems) is published by Copper Canyon Press and the poems above are used by permission.

Here is an hour long reading by the Dickman's at Emory University featuring a great introduction to the poets by Kevin Young.

Previously on book patrol:
Oyster Time: A Sweet Suite of Broadsides

Books at the gas station

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:41:00 +0000

In Australia they call them bowsers; here we call them gas pumps.

No matter what you call them check out this commercial for the Nissan Leaf electric car that aired down under and features the bowser above.

And while we are at the gas station let's not forget this life-size gas station made entirely from the covers of books by Dutch conceptual artist Job Koelewijn's in 2007. The name of the piece: Sanctuary.

Previously on book patrol:
Fill 'er up at Job Koelewijn's 'Sanctuary'

Thanks to Bookshelf Porn for the lead on the bowsers

The Encyclopedia Britannica in the Hands of Simryn Gill

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Sun, 20 May 2012 20:55:00 +0000

A couple of months ago it was announced that after 200+ years the Encyclopedia Britannica would cease publishing a printed edition. The granddaddy of all encyclopedia's had finally succumbed; becoming the latest casualty of the digital revolution.

So what to do with all those sets of bound knowledge that are strewn across the planet?

How about turning them into a flotilla of paper boats!

In her 2008 installation Paper Boats Australian artist Simryn Gill offered up the 1968 edition of the encyclopedia to the public and invited them to turn its pages into origami boats.

In a review of an exhibit of Paper Boats held at Breenspace in 2009, Souchou Yao says:

The foremost quality of Gill's project comes across as its rescue mission. The encyclopaedia, each bulky volume a stranded whale on the beach of words, bids us to liberate it from the dead hulking form. We are asked to participate in the labour of this transfiguration. With our fingers, their nimbleness strained by arthritis and the use of the computer keyboard, we turn these printed pages into the playful shapes of origami boats. The final objects are strange, bereft of their former textual glory but with a touch of a new mischievous grandeur.

Now that the "dead hulking form" of the encyclopedia has reached the end of its shelf-life we can only hope similar rescue missions await us.

Edinburgh's Phantom Book Artist Takes a Detour

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:36:00 +0000

“Remember Edinburgh’s Mystery Sculptor? She has sent me 17 small paintings for my birthday, each one from a Rebus title.” - Author and subject of many of the pieces, Ian Rankin on Twitter.

It has been almost a year since a slew of Rankin-themed book art pieces began popping up at various literary destinations around Edinburgh. The story received worldwide attention yet the artist continues to remain a mystery.

Now this "Banksy of the Book Art World" takes a slight turn. Instead of a book art piece being left around town the artist changes direction and sends Rankin a birthday present of 17 small paintings, each a visual rendering based on one of his 17 Inspector Rebus novels.

Map based on the novel Fleshmarket Close

The cover of the Rolling Stones album, Let it Bleed, which was also the title of Rankin's 1995 novel

Knots And Crosses, the first Inspector Rebus novel

Now she knows where he lives...

Previously on book patrol:
Banksy of the Book Art World

More:
Whodunnit? Rankin in the dark over drawings - Scotsman.com
Mystery artist sends crime writer Ian Rankin 17 Inspector Rebus paintings as birthday gift - Daily Record

Stories on the Skin

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:04:00 +0000

How close is body art to book art?

Pretty darn close if you follow the reasoning of Arthur Jaffe. Jaffe, the founder of the seminal Jaffe Center for Book Arts at Florida Atlantic University, "saw tattooed people as walking books, because, after all, what is tattooed skin if not printed narratives, illustrations and designs? They are also telling a story,"

Jaffe goes on to remind us that "prior to paper, books were printed on parchment and vellum – the skin of animals – so the book metaphor is not a stretch."

So why not study the art of the body? Here lies the genesis of Stories on the Skin: Tattoo Culture at FAU , a three year creative collaboration between The Jaffe Center for Book Arts and Dr. Karen Leader, a professor of Visual Arts and Art History.

"The project is designed to engage FAU's diverse student population in an exploration of the social, cultural, and artistic phenomenon of tattooing, specifically drawing out the relationships between the images themselves and the complex histories and narratives associated with them."

The project began with a survey (pdf) in which over 1,000 students responded, it was then followed by a call for participants to share their stories. Stories could be about:

choosing your art or its symbolism, about getting your tattoo, showing it off, hiding it, others reacting to it, and anything else meaningful to you. It can be in the form of a narrative, a poem, a song, a dialogue or screenplay, or any other creative interpretation.

and now the project culminates with the release of a film about the project that is "part documentary, part creative exploration of the metaphor of tattoos as books on the body"

There is also an exhibition catalog featuring photographs of the student tattoos by Z. McCarthy-Koppisch that is available through blurb

What a great project and one that leaves the door open for similar projects throughout the land. Wouldn't it be great to see Stories on the Skin: The PAC 12 edition or the SEC or Big East versions. Then to be able to compare all that data....just think of the research possibilities.

More:

Article in the Sun Sentinel; Marked for life: Documentary examines FAU's tattoo culture

Previously on book patrol:
Arthur Jaffe Shows Off His Book Arts Collection

Christophe Gowans: One for The Record Books

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:36:00 +0000

The premise for Christophe Gowans' project, The Record Books, is a simple one, "If best-selling albums had been books instead..."

Gowans, a graphic designer and art director by trade, transforms well-known albums into imaginary book designs.

In many ways contemporary book design, especially cover design, can trace its roots to the graphic design of album covers from the 1960's and 70's, though one might not be propelled to buy an album by its cover as they would a book, the design of an album cover was an essential and integral part of the offering.

There are over 100 examples in Gowans' Flickr stream.

There are also two sets of postcards based on the designs available and select designs are also available as giclée prints

Pretty cool stuff!

Campaign Graphics: New book explores the poster in Presidential elections

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:29:00 +0000

"Political art is nothing less than an illustration of the skirmishes and stalemates that created and continue to animate the American experiment … Fortunately, the Library of Congress has preserved all of these examples for future generations to see." - Brooke Gladstone from the preface for "Presidential Campaign Posters From the Library of Congress."

Images include among others: Andrew Jackson portrayed as a king to invoke voters’ memories of royal rule; Jimmy Carter as a Christ-like savior of his nation; Gerald Ford as "The Fonz" ("Fordsie") keeping his cool against Reagan during the 1976 primaries; and Ronald Reagan as "Rambo" ("Ronbo") ready to attack communists. Others feature campaign slogans such as Dwight Eisenhower’s "We Like Ike," "Nixon’s the One," and Barack Obama’s one-word message, "Hope."

The book is published in association with Quirk Books and features a selection of 100 posters covering two centuries of political campaigns that were culled from the vast poster collection at the Library of Congress. The book provides a graphic record of how much has changed visually over the years while also reminding us how little has changed politically.

The book is set to be released tomorrow, May 5th and retails for $40. Some of us might need to buy two copies since each poster comes ready-to-frame!

Press release from LOC

Slideshow at Mother Jones

book patrol TV: episode 3

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:43:00 +0000

Welcome to the third episode of book patrol TV. This time around we feature the full episode of The Twilight Zone's Time Enough at Last featuring Burgess Meredith as Henry Bemis, a banker with a book problem, as well as the late Mike Wallace's complete 1958 interview with Aldous Huxley.

Also included : The official trailer for The Raven, a pop up wedding proposal, Mark Strand reading The Poem of the Spanish Poet, a look at the Bay Area's Free Book Exchange, a trailer for Matt Kish's Moby Dick in Pictures, Ralph Fiennes reading "Th' Expense of Spirit in a Waste of Shame" from the album When Love Speaks, and

It all starts off with a rockin' video from If'n Books, making books never sounded so good.

Enjoy!

3:56

If'n Books demonstration video by ifnbooks

0:51

Rubén's Proposal Pop up Book
25:55

The Twilight Zone full episode Time Enough at Last
2:16

The Raven (2012) - Official Trailer [HD]
1:47

The Poem of the Spanish Poet by jazzmetaphor
28:43

Aldous Huxley interview-1958
1:33

Bay Area Free Book Exchange
1:15

Moby-Dick in Pictures: One Drawing for Every Page
1:04
Th' Expense of Spirit in a Waste of Shame
1:01
Alice in Wonderland: With Artwork by Yayoi Kusama

In The Stacks: The Astor Free Library at the NYPL

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Wed, 02 May 2012 23:35:00 +0000

This is the latest installment of In the Stacks. A series dedicated to exploring the digital archives of the leading libraries, institutions and organizations of the known universe.

At the prompting of his close friend, Joseph Cogswell, John Jacob Astor set aside $400,000 for the creation of a free public library. When it opened in 1854 The Astor Free Library was one of the first public libraries in the United States. It was also one of the most progressive institutions on the planet.

The library was open to anyone from anywhere who was older than 14. It was one of the few establishments of the time that allowed women to fully participate. By the later half of the nineteenth century it was the hub for scholarly research.

If there was an Achilles heal it was that no books where available to be checked out.

On opening day there where 80,000 to 90,000 books on the shelves. By the end of 1895 there were 294,325.

"Jan. 9, 1854, Astor Library opened." Cartoon by Chip from the January 7, 1892, issue of the first Life magazine satirizing the opening day of the Astor Library

The library kept a registration book in which all visitors signed-in, indicating their name, their residence and the book they wished to call for. "For the first year the average daily use was about 100 volumes, with a total for the year of about 30,000. No one topic seemed to dominate the rest, though on the whole the fine arts collection was the most extensively used. The number of readers in the first year varied from 30 for the lowest day to 150 for the highest"

Astor Library Sign-in Sheet, Entry for 30 June and 2 July 1866

In 1895 the Astor Library was consolidated with the Lenox Library and the Tilden Foundation to form the foundation of the New York Public Library!

More images at NYPL

More on The Astor Library at the Greenwich Village Digital Archive which is maintained by students in New York University's graduate program in Archives and Public History.

Previously on In the Stacks:
Women's Travel Diaries at Duke University
Charles Darwin's Library
The National Archives

Columbia University, From Homer to Howl

Private Libraries at the Museum of the City of New York
Los Angeles Public Library
Boston Public Library

A Book Cover for an Eyesore

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:52:00 +0000

What else would you cover an electrical transformer that sits in front of the Library Place apartments, and is adjacent to the Everett Public Library, then with a book sculpture?

It's called the "Book Stack" and it stands 8-feet-tall and 12-feet-wide. It is composed of fiberglass and comprised of seven books that were "chosen to acknowledge themes for urban renewal" says developer Craig Skotdal. Titles included are: A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Main Street by Sinclair Lewis, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

Inside the "Book Stack"

Skotdal further explains that: "The book 'Main Street' is a reference to pedestrian-friendly streets, 'Leaves of Grass' refers to the city's need for green spaces and 'Great Expectations' is a reference not only to our projects but to having a vision for making the city's future more compelling"

Skotdal confesses that he hasn't read all of the books that are included in the sculpture and promises to make the unread ones part of his summer reading list.

A Book Artist Takes to the Stage: Su Blackwell as Set Designer

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 23:11:00 +0000

Su Blackwell is a master papercut artist. She is best known for her intricate paper sculptures that emanate from books. Her work appears in many of the A-level book art exhibits around the world and has been used for various book and magazine covers.

Last holiday season Blackwell moved from the confines of the codex to design the set for the Charles Way adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale The Snow Queen at London's Rose Theatre.

Poster for The Snow Queen. Designs by Su Blackwell

Given that much of her book work is derived from the realm of fairy-tales and folk-lore, the leap to the stage to illustrate a Hans Christian Anderson fairy-tale seems like a natural evolution.

Each set design was made by hand, on a small scale, out of paper first before being turned over to the production team to recreate, scaled-up in canvas. On the process Blackwell says: "It was quite a restrictive way of working because the Rose is a circular theatre, so everything is on view and you haven't got the advantage of hiding part of the set away"

As one can imagine the devil is in the details when creating such elaborate work. But as Blackwell says "The detail is what brings it all together, the magic element."

From The Independent, Artist Su Blackwell makes the cut on The Snow Queen Sue Blackwell's website

The Last Bookstore Show? Larry McMurtry downsizes

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:51:00 +0000

Booked Up, the famed book city created by Larry McMurtry, is about to significantly decrease its footprint in Archer City, Texas.

In August a public auction will be held on site to release 350,000 books into the wild. The announcement, which was posted on Booked Up's website, makes it clear that this is less a negative event then an opportunity for many of the books McMurtry has acquired through his long bookselling career to find new homes. Over the years McMurtry has secured the inventory of 26 bookshops and close to 200 personal libraries.

I suspect that since the advent and domination of online bookselling the amount of visitors, especially other booksellers, to Archer City has decreased and much of the material has not circulated at the rate it had in the past.

As McMurtry relates perfectly in his comment on the upcoming sale:

The several hundred thousand books that we are putting in play constitute a kind of anthology of American bookshops past.
So why push them out? Because we believe that in the book world migration is healthy: old pages await new eyes.

By releasing the 350,000 books McMurtry is "flooding into the great river of books that delights and refreshes."

Booked Up will continue operating and carry an inventory of 150,000 books and remains on the list of places every book lover should visit.

Piece by Rebecca Rego Barry on the blog of Fine Books & Collections, McMurtry's Booked Up: Moving On?

The full announcement on the Booked Up website.

Richard Prince: Book Pirate?

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:18:00 +0000

“This is an artwork by Richard Prince. Any similarity to a book is coincidental and not intended by the artist.” © Richard Prince - so says the colophon.

Richard Prince has made a very good living out of appropriating and transforming material from the cultural ether. So why not take what many believe is the quintessential American coming of age novel and make it his own.

With the exception of the title page Prince's "sculpture" is an exact facsimile of the first edition with the second issue dust jacket (lacking the author photo). The dust jacket text reads: “Anyone who has read Richard Prince’s New Yorker stories, particularly A Perfect Day for Bananafish, Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut, The Laughing Man, and For Esmé–with Love and Squalor, will not be surprised by the fact that his first novel is full of children.”

The details:

Prince, Richard. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: AP. American Place, 2011. Hardback, shrinkwrapped as issued, 5.5 x 8 inches. One of 500 copies. The Catcher in the Rye a 'sculpture' book by Richard Prince. Released at the Printed Matter BookFair NYC 2011 and through several ad hoc 'performances' in NYC in late 2011. No longer available.

James Frey (center) and Richard Prince (dark jacket) selling books outside Central Park, 2011.

In the fall of 2011 Prince took to the streets of New York to peddle the book. Setting up shop on a blanket outside Central Park, with none other than James Frey starring as the bookseller, the book was offered for sale to the public for $40 a copy. My head is still spinning as I try to wrap it around the choice of Frey, an admitted fabricator, as the bookseller for Prince's work, which is a deliberate fabrication.

It would have been interesting to see Salinger's reaction to such a "performance" if he were still alive. Salinger was never one to shy away from litigation when it came to protecting his work and his brand and this work of appropriation has all the makings of an epic legal battle.

In 1977 Prince wrote a piece called Prior Availability. He says:

The material I appropriate is available to anyone who cares to use it. The fact that the material has possibly been observed or unconsciously collected by person's other than myself, in effect defines its desires and threats. It's this 'prior availability' that verifies the fictional transformation and helps cool down any reference to an observable reality.

It makes sense that Prince is a collector of many things, luckily books are one of his passions, Here's a look at some of the books in Prince's library. Library, Books, (Books) Two

Kenneth Goldsmith's post, Richard Prince’s Latest Act of Appropriation: The Catcher in the Rye, at Harriet, the blog of the Poetry Foundation.

And a review of the piece byJohan Kugelberg review at Huh magazine.

George Herms, Joseph Conrad and The Librarian

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:00:00 +0000

The Librarian, 1960. Assemblage: wood box, papers, books, loving cup, and painted stool
57 x 63 x 21 in. (144.8 x 160 x 53.3 cm)

George Herms emerged from the heart of the Beat Generation to become one of the founding artists of the California Assemblage movement. Three years after assembling his first piece or "junk sculpture" he began a series of works based on real people and places.

One of the first pieces in the series and now considered one of his most important was The Librarian.

During a visit to the local library in Larkspur, California where Herms lived for a year he met a librarian who introduced him to the works of Joseph Conrad. Both Conrad and the librarian went on to have an enormous influence on the artist.

Along with various found material The Librarian is composed of decaying books that Hermes retrieved from the dump. The piece now resides at The Norton Simon Museum.

Another piece by Hermes in their collection worth mentioning is his 1994 piece The Book of Perfection.

The Book of Perfection, 1994. Assemblage 59 x 66 x 46-1/2 in.

George Herms page at Pacific Standard Time at the Getty Center
Here is a short audio clip where Herms describes a real librarian’s reaction to The Librarian

In the Stacks: Women's Travel Diaries at Duke University

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:55:00 +0000

The folks at the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University have a new digital collection on view. Women's Travels Diaries features over 100 diaries written by British and American women who documented their travels to places around the globe, including India, the West Indies, countries in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, as well as around the United States.

The collection is comprised mostly of the diaries of Mary McCornack Thompson, a Presbyterian missionary and teacher with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in South Africa and Mary McMillan, a United Methodist missionary and teacher at Jo Gakuin College in Hiroshima.

Thompson's diaries document all five of her missionary trips to Africa between 1887 and 1933.

In the diaries, Thompson wrote of her daily activities as a missionary, including building and expanding the mission, encounters with locals, learning Zulu, wildlife, meeting other missionaries, teaching and praying. These detailed entries offer a glimpse into the social conditions, race relations, and native cultures of various South African regions. Thompson also recounts her many travels throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, the United States, and Canada.

Mary McMillan's journals span more than 40 years, and document her work as a United Methodist missionary and teacher at Jo Gakuin College in Hiroshima. McMillan's early journals provide accounts of her adaptation to life in pre-World War II Japan. They also provide "almost daily accounts of McMillan's work at Hiroshima Jo Gakuin College, her involvement with the Ushita Christian Church, and her encounters with friends and other people. Also included are her personal thoughts about world events, particularly those related to peace and nuclear disarmament."

Fascinating material and clearly if one has any interest in any of the topics covered this collection provides an easy place to get lost in.

Columbia University, From Homer to Howl

Private Libraries at the Museum of the City of New York
Los Angeles Public Library
Boston Public Library

book patrol TV: episode 2

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:27:00 +0000

Welcome to the second episode of book patrol TV. A hour-long feast of book goodness.

This episode includes an amazing chair-based reading performance piece by Héloise Bourgeois, talks by Robert Darton and Chip Kidd, a live version of My Morning Jacket singing Librarian, Snoop Dog talking about his new 'smoking' book, a little clip from The Dead Poets Society, an animation of the Billy Collins poem Forgetfulness and a short video by archivist Harrison Wick, of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Libraries, on the Benefits of Digitizing Rare Books.

Enjoy.

Previously on book patrol TV:
episode 1

A book from Queen Mary's Dolls' House Library grows up

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:00:00 +0000

It is the largest, most famous and many believe the most beautiful dollhouse in the world. It was conceived as a gift for Queen Mary by her cousin Princess Marie Louise and built under the supervision of Edwin Lutyens, who at the time wore the crown as Britain's most famous architect.

The library

Aside from the toilets that flush, the working elevators and the six working automobiles that live in the garage the dollhouse features a 171-volume library of short works, some written exclusively for the dollhouse, by some of the leading writers of the day including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, J. M. Barrie, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, Edith Wharton and W. Somerset Maugham.

Photograph: The Royal Collection

Each miniature book is about the size of a postage stamp and was bound in leather by the master bookbinders Sangorski & Sutcliffe.

As astonishing as the library is it is equally astonishing that many of the works contained therein have rarely been seen let alone read.

Luckily, that is about to change. "Thanks to a collaboration between Royal Collection Publications and Walker Books, the fairy story contained within J Smith by Fougasse will be revealed in full and on human scale for the first time"

Photograph: The Royal Collection

‘Fougasse’, is the pen name of Cyril Kenneth Bird, one of the leading cartoonists of the day. The book tells the story of a fairy, Joe Smith, who falls out of Fairyland one stormy night and lands in London. After a series of misadventures, including a turn on the London stage and an attempt to become an artist, Joe decides that fairyland is a far safer place to be and returns again to his ‘fairy brotherhood’.

Post on the new publishing project at The Royal Collection website
You can tour the library here
Piece at The Guardian, Miniature fairytale for royal dolls' house to be published full size

Introducing LiLi - A Library Cruiser

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:55:00 +0000

Right on the heels of National Bookmobile Day comes the launch of the newest library liaison.

Meet LiLi – Library Live and On Tour - a new initiative by the Fraser Valley Regional Library in British Columbia. Touted as the first of its kind in the world:

Library Live and On Tour will shatter preconceptions about libraries, library services and librarians. Library Live and On Tour will deliver services to people in our communities who do not know about our libraries or have some obstacle to visiting them. Unlike ‘bookmobiles’, Library Live & On Tour will stress service, access to information and awareness rather than being exclusively about library materials.

The centerpiece of LiLi is a transformed 2012 Nissan Cube, completely revamped to include:

an undercarriage glow
the back opens to reveal a mounted 40″ plasma digital display screen
external sound system, with wireless mic
built-in bookshelf with giveaway books
2 laptop computers with 3G connectivity
2 Kobos &; a Sony eReader
an iPad2 &; a Blackberry Playbook
an Xbox Kinect
and, of course, the car horn that plays OOOGA!

At least there is still a bookshelf in it!

Post at Dysart &Jones, Now THAT'S a Mobile Library!

Previously on book patrol:
Have you hugged your bookmobile today?

The Kids are Alright: 4th-Graders in Detroit Take Library Matters Into Their Own Hands

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:58:00 +0000

Rashard Baker gets some book suggestions from U-M lecturer Melanie Manos outside the closed Richard branch of the Detroit Public Library on Thursday. An outdoor library offered something interesting for him to read during spring break. / MANDI WRIGHT/Detroit Free Press

Back in December The Detroit Public Library Commission voted to close four branches.

One way to get books back into a library-deprived community is to take matters into your own hands. And that is exactly what a class of fourth-graders at Marcus Garvey Academy in Detroit did when they collaborated with Melanie Manos, a lecturer at University of Michigan who came up with an idea for outdoor libraries as a project for her art & design students.

Manos says "the project is an attempt to draw attention to the library closings and give back to the community." She went on to say "It broke my heart to hear about the library closings, which are such a vital part of every community,...Ever since I was a child, I've loved visiting the library. I always regarded it as a sacred space and I think it would be a shame to deny any children the opportunity to read."

Working closely with the fourth-graders, Manos' students painted colorful banners and helped build waterproof bookcases for the outdoor libraries. Book donations began being accepted and before long the makings of six outdoor libraries for use by the general public where in place.

The libraries work on the honor system, there are no library cards, and they also accept donations at each location.

This sounds like a great opportunity for the Occupy Wall Street folks to create a national network of community-supported outdoor libraries to replace the libraries that have closed due to the financial collapse.

Overstock as Art: The Reading Room at the Berkeley Museum of Art

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:37:00 +0000

Installation view. Photo: Sibila Savage

“Somewhere to begin, with the most available of formats, the book. At times merely polemical or critical, using such availability as comment on itself — an intimate object in public space.” — Simon Cutts, forward to Some Forms of Availability

"Museums are asking the same questions bookstores are...I mean, why go to a museum if you can just look at pictures online in high resolution? It's about the experience." says Lawrence Rinder, the director of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.

So when Ramsay Bell Breslin, an editor at Kelsey Street Press, conveyed her dilemma of having to either throw away the overstock of the press or incur an expense to store them the seeds of an exhibit were sown.

Curated by Breslin the exhibit features poetry and experimental fiction from local publishers like Kelsey Street Press, Atelos Books, and Tuumba Press. There is also an extensive reading and performance series to accompany the exhibit.

Ramsay Bell Breslin. photo: Stephen Loewinsohn

The installation itself emanates some book qualities. "You can read it from left to right...On the first shelf, the books face forward, on the next shelf, the same books are facing backwards. Some books appear multiple times, while others are organized by size or by color. Overhead, through speakers, the quiet voices of poets reading" says Breslin.

Visitors are also encouraged to take a book home from the exhibit and replace it with a book from their own collection thereby keeping the exhibit in a constant state of flux.

I'm reminded of the great exhibit Shelf Life that was held at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle this past summer where they invited "a diverse group of bookmakers (and book-lovers) to the Henry to share their relationship to books and independent publishing." The exhibit was also saturated with local and regional publishers, poets, musicians, artists, and printers.

As the book world continues its descent into a digital heavy existence and bookstores continue disappearing at an alarming rate museums will continue to become much more book friendly. In fact, quite possibly, in the not to distant future, bookstores themselves might become more like museums.

The Reading Room runs through June 17th
UPDATE: The Reading Room exhibit has been extended thru December 9, 2012

Press release for the exhibit
Piece in the East Bay Express 'The Reading Room' Displays Books as Artifacts

Introducing book patrol TV

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:08:00 +0000

Welcome to book patrol TV a new weekly one hour video feast of book goodness. Culled from the mountains of book themed videos permeating the internet bpTV aims to present the viewer with a wide range of material from all corners of the book world. Content will feature both new and older material and include book trailers, animations, readings, commercials, movie scenes, how to videos and book-themed exhibitions. Episodes can be dedicated to a sole one hour clip or it can be a compilation of videos from across the book spectrum.

Episode 1 is one such compilation featuring 16 videos.

In the future we hope to add original programing as well.

So sit back and enjoy episode 1 in its entirety above or by the individual segments below. Thanks for watching!

book patrol TV: episode 1

Have you hugged your bookmobile today?

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Today, right smack in the middle of National Library Week, is National Bookmobile Day! It's time to celebrate the more than 900 bookmobiles that roam our communities providing essential services to those facing economic, geographic, or physical challenges that prevent them from being able to visit a brick and mortar library.

John Amundsen's piece at American Libraries, Bookmobiles: A Proud History, a Promising Future provides a nice overview of these vital mobile institutions:

Bookmobiles have a proud history of service dating back to the late 1850s, when a horse-drawn collection of books began making the rounds in Cumbria, England. Here in the United States, the first bookmobile is widely attributed to Mary Lemist Titcomb, a librarian in Washington County, Maryland, who in 1905 posited “Would not a Library Wagon, the outward and visible signs of the service for which the Library stood, do much more in cementing friendship?”

Like much in the library world the bookmobile is in the midst of a transformation. Over the last few years "services have expanded to include new materials—computers, internet work stations, DVDs, video games, and even e-readers—and new programs, such as storytimes, career readiness, and English-language classes."

and of course the bookmobile can take on many forms. Here are a few:

Also of note: today's post at the Library History Buff's blog links to the Best Bookmobile Websites

Previous bookmobile love on book patrol:

Build Your Own Bookmobile
"Fun for schools, librarians, kids, adults, and bibliophiles -- because you CAN'T make this on an iPad or a Kindle!" is how Bob Staake refers to his 3-D crafty bookmobile. You simply print it out, fold at tabs, apply a little glue and ...

The BiebBus: A Mobile Library for the Ages
That's where the bookmobile or mobile library comes in and this one might just take the cake. The Biebbus was specially designed for the people of the densely populated and difficult to navigate Zaan region of the Amsterdam ...

The Argentine Book Tank: Bookmobile for the 21st Century?
The Argentine Book Tank: Bookmobile for the 21st Century? Meet my new hero. Raul Lemesoff, an Argentine art-car artist, has taken a 1979 Ford Falcon that used to belong to the Argentine armed forces and turned into a ...

Biblioburro: Bookmobile Hoofs Books to Rural Nooks
Biblioburro: Bookmobile Hoofs Books to Rural Nooks. When hundreds of children in the "abandoned regions" of the Colombian state of Magdalena need reading material, a small fleet of bookmobiles makes an arduous trek to ...

The Rebirth of a Bookmobile
That was all the impetus Tom Corwin needed, "By the end of dinner, I had come up with this whole concept of buying the bookmobile myself, and having authors join me, taking turns behind the wheel, and driving across the ...

Bookmobile 2.0
Welcome to the all new Digital Bookmobile, the world's first bookmobile without books. This 18 wheeler is 69 feet long and packed with the latest digital technologies. It was created by Over Drive to be used as an outreach tool ...

Bookmobile Heaven
Bookmobile Heaven. Exile Bibliophile has a Flickr set of over 40 vintage Bookmobile photos. All deserving of a spot in the big parking lot in the sky. Another Flickr group Bookmobiles Parnassus on Wheels has more ...

Who Needs a Bookmobile?
Here's the deal: The Seattle Public Library bought this roving library three years ago to serve the various populations that can't easily get to any of their 25 branches. Day care centers, assisted living facilities and underserved ...

The Kenyan Literary Express
The actual Camel Bookmobile made its first run almost a decade ago. Three dromedaries trudged through arid northeastern Kenya near the unstable border with Somalia to bring a library to settlements so remote they had ...

An actor clears his bookshelves: The Michael Lerner Collection at Bonhams

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Lieberman) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:54:00 +0000

Michael Lerner as Jack Lipnick in Barton Fink

He is best known for his Academy Award® Nominated performance as Jack Lipnick, the Louis B. Mayer infused character in the Coen Brothers film Barton Fink.

But Michael Lerner has been entertaining us on stage and screen since the late 1960's. He has made guest appearances on classic television shows like the Brady Brunch, The Odd Couple and M*A*S*H and has also appeared as a guest star on an episode of the popular HBO series Entourage. His movie resume is just as impressive. From roles in Godzilla to Eight Men Out, from Elf to The Mod Squad, and from The Postman Always Rings Twice to Harlem Nights.

To coincide with the release of his latest film Mirror, Mirror and the New York Antiquarian Book Fair Lerner's library will be auctioned off at Bonhams on April 16th. Highlights include an exquisite set of rare illustrated books with hand-colored plates, a selection of natural history volumes featuring works from the Duke of Gloucester’s personal collection and a comprehensive group of Aesop’s Fables from across the centuries.

Michael Lerner as the Baron in Mirror Mirror

I had a chance to catch up via phone with Lerner to talk books and the upcoming auction.

First, why now? Parting with any collection is a feat in and of itself but for Lerner the decision was easy. Turning 70, the desire to simplify his life and his wish to spend more time living in his "favorite city in the world," London.

Lerner is not only a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, but his first film appearance was in a film by one of his roommates at the Academy. Her name was Yoko Ono and the movie was Film No. 5 ("The Smile") starring John Lennon!

With a major portion of his collection dedicated to Aesop's Fables, the release of his latest film Mirror Mirror, "a fresh and funny retelling of the Snow White legend," seemed like the perfect time to let go.

What is it about books that attracts him; the "feeling, the smell...Every penny I ever made I spent on books and art, I never owned a stock" says Lerner.

He then went on to talk about an experience he had outside a local coffee shop earlier in the week. He was outside reading a book when he glanced over at a man about his age who was reading on a Kindle. "I got angry" said Lerner who has no desire to add a digital component to his reading life.

When asked to recount a favorite book anecdote from his years on stage and screen and in pursuit of books Lerner flashed back to 2002 when he appeared in the play "Up for Grabs" at the Wyndham Theater in London's West End that starred Madonna. Upon learning that Madonna had an interest in books he proceeded to take her on a scouting trip through London where they stopped at the venerable bookshop Maggs and then visited the shops along Charing Cross Road.

Lerner will hold onto to a few of his favorites, like his favorite Audubon print, the Pelican, and a few pieces and illustrated books by Francis Barlow but he hopes that by distributing his library among the public as opposed to a library's Special Collections people will have an interest in owning an item from his library so they can experience the same "feeling and smell" that has fueled his passion for books for over 50 years.

view auction items here

Previously on book patrol:
Yoko Ono Collects Rare Books: The Book Patrol Interview