Public Library Of by Eva Olthof €15,00

Public Library Of (2022)
Eva Olthof
Publisher: PrintRoom
€15

Public Library Of is a series of zines which zoom in on public library controversies in different parts of the world. For each of the zines one specifically invited guest sheds light on a local library issue. This first edition of 200 copies, comprises 5 contributions, which are set in Alice Springs (AU), Bandung (ID) and Rotterdam (NL) with detours to Amsterdam and Spijkenisse (NL), Chicago (US) and Inverness (UK). The zines, published and riso printed at PrintRoom, feature multiple texts, newspaper clippings, fieldwork pictures, a poem and drawings.

Since working on her long-term research project Public Library Of, Eva Olthof has had many encounters and inspiring conversations with people in different parts of the world that have the public library (and/or self-organised libraries) close to their heart. At the same time, they all observe the challenges which the institutions or users face firsthand: the closing of libraries, recurrent budget cuts, libraries used as instruments for city marketing lacking profound visions, opposition to self-organised initiatives, or – in times of a pandemic – libraries becoming places of exclusion instead of inclusion.

Design by Nicole Martens.

English
Set of 4 zines