Original photo by Horia Varlan

“Why Books?”

 

Videos

Experience the proceedings on-line: streaming video of the conference is now available on Harvard's iTunes U channel and YouTube channel:

Welcome Remarks and Opening Conversation
Session 1: “Storage and Retrieval”
Session 2: “Circulation and Transmission”
Session 3: “Reception and Use” and Closing Remarks

 

Post-conference Coverage

News

"A Hybrid Era of Words in Print" (Radcliffe Magazine)
"Why Books?" conference draws more than 500 to discuss the past, present, and future of books

“The Book of Clouds” (Boston Phoenix)
As books turn into data and tweets are archived for posterity, how will readers and academics cope with the detritus of a digital age?

“Why Books?” (Harvard Gazette)
Harvard is field of battle for print’s fate in a digital age

“The Whither and Why of Books” (Harvard Gazette)
Conference examines the place of venerable, vulnerable print in a rapidly evolving digital future

"What Books Are For" (Harvard Magazine)
"Why Books?" conference emphasizes the functions of books—what books do and what is done to them

Blogs

Early Modern On-line Bibliography
PhiloBiblos
Harvard University Press

Summaries

“Why Books?” conference and site visits summaries

 

Events

Site Visits: Thursday, October 28, 2010; various locations
Conference: Friday, October 29, 2010; Radcliffe Gymnasium, 10 Garden Street, Radcliffe Yard

Description

“Why Books?” probes the form and function of the book in a rapidly changing media ecology. Speakers from a variety of disciplines—literature and history to sociology and computer science—will discuss the public-policy implications of new media forms and will explore some of the major functions that we identify with books today: production and diffusion; storage and retrieval; and reception and use.

The Friday conference will be preceded by a series of Thursday afternoon workshops which will take speakers and preregistered participants on “site visits” to various local institutions, including a printing press, a conservation lab, a digital humanities center, and special collections of books and manuscripts.
 
“Why Books?” was organized by a faculty committee led by Leah Price ’91, RI ’07, Professor of English, Harvard College Professor, and Senior Advisor in the Humanities at the Radcliffe Institute, and Ann Blair ’84, BI ’99, Henry Charles Lea Professor of History and Harvard College Professor.

See also the article: “Why Books? Why Not?”