Bookshelves in the Age of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Description

Bookshelves in the Age of the COVID-19 Pandemic provides the first detailed scholarly investigation of the cultural phenomenon of bookshelves (and the social practices around them) since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. With a foreword by Lydia Pyne, author of Bookshelf (2016), the volume brings together 17 scholars from 6 countries (Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA) with expertise in literary studies, book history, publishing, visual arts, and pedagogy to critically examine the role of bookshelves during the current pandemic. This volume interrogates the complex relationship between the physical book and its digital manifestation via online platforms, a relationship brought to widespread public and scholarly attention by the global shift to working from home and the rise of online pedagogy. It also goes beyond the (digital) bookshelf to consider bookselling, book accessibility, and pandemic reading habits.  Foreword: The Bookshelf Endures References Acknowledgments About the Book Praise for Bookshelves in the Age of the COVID-19 Pandemic Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures Chapter 1: Introduction Theoretical Frameworks and Contexts Pandemic Reading and the Bibliotherapy Bookshelf Blurring Boundaries, Heightening Inequalities The Bookshelf and Socio-economic Inequality Structure of the Volume Beyond the Pandemic Bookshelf References Part I: Private and Public Reading Spaces Chapter 2: An Examination of Bookshelves in the Age of the COVID-19 Pandemic as a “Liminal Space” Liminality The Bookshelf as a Private-Public Space Digital Mediation Bookshelves as a Data Source: Big Data and Thick Data Coda References Chapter 3: Crisis Book Browsing: Restructuring the Retail Shelf Life of Books Setting the Scene Crisis Book Browsing and Post-Digital Book Worlds Crisis Book Browsing Beyond Australia: Bookshop.org Melbourne: A City of Essential Bookstores Methodology and Methods Readings Books: The Famous Bargain Tab(le) Paperback Bookshop: “With Apologies for the Cramped Conditions” Neighbourhood Books: for “Everyone Who is Missing Out Browsing IRL” Conclusion References Chapter 4: “Your Bookshelf Is Problematic”: Progressive and Problematic Publishing in the Age of COVID-19 From Literary Merit to “Problematic Faves” The Progressive Reader Progressive Symbolic Capital Conclusion References Chapter 5: Old Books and New Media: Reader Response to The Thorn Birds and Late Night with Seth Meyers Responding to The Thorn Birds Books and Change Conclusion: The Codex and the Meme References Part II: Material Culture on Screen Chapter 6: Videoconferencing as a Digital Medium: Bookshelves in Backgrounds Throughout History Introduction Approach The Seventeenth Century and The Great Picture Cartomania in Victorian England Twenty-First-Century Videoconferencing Bookish Organizations and Artificial Bookish Backgrounds Discussion of Books in Backgrounds Across Eras and Media Conclusion References Chapter 7: Digital Masks of Printed Books: On-Screen Representations of the Materiality of the Codex Discovering Historical Precedents Contemporary Conditions Acquiring Historical Precedents Contemporary Conditions Sharing Historical Precedents Contemporary Conditions Conclusions References Chapter 8: Bookish Objects on the Bookshelf Conceptual Framework Book Nooks: The Creativity of Bookish Objects Enhanced and Diminished: Mass Displays Industrial Impact of Bookish Objects: Brands in the Home Conclusion References Chapter 9: Writing with Spines: Bookshelf Art, Found Poetry, and the Practice of Assemblage The History of Making Do: Assemblage, Found Poetry, and Readymade Aesthetics Nina Katchadourian’s Sorted Books: Arrangement, Constraint, and Site-Specific Practice Bright Colors and Digital Manipulations: Pandemic Trends and Impossible Arrangements References Part III: Libraries, Pedagogy and Reading During the Pandemic Chapter 10: Elmer the Elephant in the Zoom Room? Reflections on Parenting, Book Accessibility, and Screen Time in a Pandemic “Book deserts” Before the COVID-19 Pandemic Book Accessibility for Children and Families During the Pandemic Creative Solutions, Pragmatic Approaches References Chapter 11: A Bookshelf of the World: Bringing Students’ Books Inside the Classroom—A Means for Epistemic Equality? Pre-pandemic Teaching of “The Material Book” Teaching “The Material Book” During the Pandemic Results Accessibility and Epistemic Equality Diversifying the Curriculum Being in Charge Survey Conclusion References Chapter 12: Online Learning, Library Access, and Bookcase Insecurity: A German Case Study Introduction “Bookcase Insecurity” and Conflation of Public and Private Spaces Peeking at a Student Bookshelf Lack of Study/Social Spaces The Impact of Restricted Access to Libraries Changes in Student Book Buying/Reading Habits Alternative Means of Accessing Materials Accessibility, Disability, and Working Within Limitations Studies on Students with Disabilities at German Universities Pandemic Experiences of Students with Disabilities at the English Department Conclusion: From Insecurity to Accessibility References Chapter 13: “Ummmmm, guys? Don’t microwave your books”: Readers, Authors, and Institutions in #PandemicReading Tweets Introduction Methodology Reactive Readers Resilient Authors Digitally Engaged Institutions Conclusion References Index