King Library Press Presents ‘Print/Reprint’ Virtual Roundtable

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 10, 2022) — Join University of Kentucky Libraries’ King Library Press 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, via Zoom, for “Print/Reprint: A Roundtable Discussion of Print Technologies as Material Evidence.” Presenting distinguished panelists from across the United States, this virtual event will delve into the study of 20th-century printing technologies and how they can impact our collective understanding of social, cultural and labor history.

“We began planning this roundtable following my attendance at the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) Conference last summer, where I noticed overlapping themes with several of the panelists’ presentations there,” said Colleen Barrett, UK Libraries rare books librarian and organizer of the event. “Though they were discussing vastly different topics in different types and styles of sessions, they mentioned labor issues that have not always been discussed in book historical contexts.”

Featured panelists and moderators for the roundtable discussion include: 

• E. Haven Hawley, chair of the Special and Area Studies Collections Department at George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida;
• Erin McGuirl, bibliographer and executive director of The Bibliographical Society of America;
• Autumn Womack, assistant professor for the Department of English and African American Studies, Princeton University; and
• Elizabeth Ott, Frank Borden Hanes Curator of Rare Books at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Libraries.

To RSVP for the event, please click here.

“Print/Reprint” is a continuation of the King Library Press’ biannual seminars and workshops celebrating the book arts and fine printing. This will be the sixth virtual event that the press has hosted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The possibility of virtual events, promoted in part by the pandemic, have created the parallel possibility of bringing people together from far and wide and in larger numbers than in the past,” said King Library Press Director Paul Holbrook. “Virtual press events provide an easier, less complicated, and less expensive way to connect those interested in the book arts with a host of experts across the world, through the King Library Press.”

Founded in 1956, the King Library Press is among the longest-running presses on a college campus. Devoted to the tradition of fine printing, the press produces books and broadsides through typesetting, printing and binding, and hosts several lectures, workshops and other outreach events each year. Various opportunities to engage, intern or volunteer are also available. The press, part of UK Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center, is located in the basement of the Margaret I. King Library Building.

The Special Collections Research Center at UK Libraries sustains the Commonwealth’s memory and serves as the essential bridge between past, present and future. By preserving materials documenting the social, cultural, economic and political history of Kentucky, the center provides rich opportunities for students to expand their worldview and enhance their critical thinking skills. Special Collections Research Center materials are used by scholars worldwide to advance original research and pioneer creative approaches to scholarship. UK Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center is the Archives, the Rare Book collection, the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, the King Library Press, the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center, the Bert T. Combs Appalachian Collection, the John G. Heyburn Initiative and ExploreUK.