Keynote 1: Thursday 26th July 9:45 - 10:30, Lecture Hall

Leading UK art librarian, previous Chair of ARLIS/UK & Ireland and contributing author to The Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship (2nd ed., Facet Publishing, 2017). Director of Library and Student Support Services at University of the Arts London.

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Abstract:

The dictionary definition of creativity is ‘The use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness’. This keynote will explore and celebrate the creativity of art and design librarians that enables them to contribute proactively to an outstanding user experience and to the delivery of institutional priorities. It will use as its starting point the Creative Attributes Framework recently developed by the Careers and Employability Team at University of the Arts London, and apply this model to the professional qualities demonstrated by art and design librarians through their working practices. It will also consider how these attributes can be transferred to management and leadership roles both within and beyond art and design librarianship.

Keynote 2: Thursday 26th July 17:00 - 17:45, Lecture Hall

Author of Cruising the Library: Perversities in the Organisation of Knowledge (Fordham University Press, 2017). Assistant Professor at University of Western Ontario.

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Abstract:

In first-century Greece a woman named Pamphila wrote a 30-volume collection of histories—something like an encyclopedia. Rather than organising the encyclopedia conventionally by subject, she intentionally arranged the topics in such a way that would bring the greatest pleasure to her readers. Her method was compared to that of weaving a tapestry.

Metaphors of weaving, threads, and webs abound in library and information practice. This talk will explore the materiality of the library space and how we might use weaving techniques to dramatise reading practices and intertextuality across the library. I look to ancient myth and historical figures to think about the relationships between threadwork, desire and knowledge.

If we think of library classifications as structures that organise library spaces, we might also understand them as structures of architecture and design. The shelves that hold and display the books effectively map the interior of the library and affect our encounters with knowledge and our own desires. Critical classification scholarship has demonstrated the limitations and problems that library classifications inhere, but often leaves us wondering what a viable alternative might look like. Artistic practices like weaving can inspire different ways of imagining a library’s purpose. A creative library praxis, driven by and embracing a multitude of desires and pleasures, may offer possibilities for designing and occupying library spaces.

Keynote 3: Friday 27th July 9:35 - 10:20, Lecture Hall

Leading UK art librarian and contributing author to The Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship (2nd ed., Facet Publishing, 2017). Director of Library Services at Goldsmiths, University of London.

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Abstract:

Some librarians are born to be art librarians, successfully and seamlessly merging the two disciplines together in their daily lives. For many of us, though, we have to make a deliberate and measured transition from being a more general library and information professional at different types of library from a variety of institutions. In theory, this often sounds quite a straightforward move for those who need to make it... but in reality, few can foresee the profound nature of the transition, and indeed the transformation of becoming an art librarian!
In his presentation, Leo will discuss the characteristics, specialisms and skillsets of art librarians alongside those required for non-arts environments. Drawing upon his own experiences, particularly around his recent move into the world of arts education, he will reflect upon the strategies required in order to peacefully and successfully exist in both worlds, with a real focus on the values of education and student experience which permeates all educational sectors.

Keynote 4: Friday 27th July 17:00-17:45, Lecture Hall

Internationally known pioneer in graphic design, typography, experimental poetry, fine art and digital humanities. Breslauer Professor of Bibliographical Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Abstract:

Curating collections involves a constant process of assessment—what to acquire, what to refuse, how to define the profile of a collection and align it with what seems important in the present. The foreground is always crowded with trends and activities, difficult to sort out, and the lack of a critical mediating structure for artists’ books only complicates the task. We have no bestseller lists, no organs of critical review, no gatekeeping system of gallery-to-museum shows building reputations through a professional community’s collective judgment. In the art of the book, as in any creative field, the pitfalls of academicism, didacticism and commodification plague the curator. Is the well-made the enemy of the well-thought? What ideas, concepts, or themes are truly topical, indicative, or important as a record of the times? Do curators fall prey to a form of complicity with high production values because they seem secure, or political themes that salve the moral conscience? What makes a book interesting, valuable, and worthy of collection? And now, how do we address the challenges of digital projects and their obsolescence without avoiding these artifacts completely? This talk looks at about a dozen examples of books from the last century to consider the difficulties of framing judgment in the task of collecting.