Fantasies of the Library

intercalations 1 ... an unruly sequence of pages wherein the reader-as-exhibition-viewer learns, rather surprisingly—but with growing conviction—that the library is not only a curatorial space, but that its bibliological imaginary is also a fertile territory for the exploration of paginated affairs in the Anthropocene.

In the inaugural volume of the intercalations: paginated exhibition series, Fantasies of the Library, Anna-Sophie Springer’s book-length feature essay, “Melancholies of the Paginated Mind,” which takes up heterodox approaches to the institutional order and organization of book collections, is virtually stacked alongside the other contributions, including an interview with Rick Prelinger and Megan Prelinger of the Prelinger Library in San Francisco; reflections on the role of archives and cultural memory by Hammad Nasar, then Head of Research and Programmes at the Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong; a conversation with media theorist Joanna Zylinska about experiments at the intersection of curatorial practice and open source e-books; and, a discussion between artist and K. co-founder Charles Stankievech and platform developer Adam Hyde on new approaches to open-source publishing in science and academia. The image essay, “Reading Rooms–Reading Machines” (also by Springer), presents views of unusual historical libraries next to works by artists such as Kader Attia, Andrew Beccone, Mark Dion, Rodney Graham, Katie Paterson, Veronika Spierenburg, Andrew Norman Wilson, and others.

Made possible by the Schering Stiftung.

A revised, second edition is available in print at mitpress.mit.edu/books/fantasies-library.