User:Simon/bootleg library at Meeting Grounds

bootleg library at Meeting Grounds, Onomatopee Projects, Eindhoven, 06.03.20

description

Meeting Grounds is a public program organised by Onomatopee Projects, a Dutch publisher and cultural space in Eindhoven. This bootleg library session was held in Eindhoven at Onomatopee HQ as part of Meeting Grounds. It was attended by a group of friends, who were all of similar ages. After we cooked lunch together, I invited participants to explore the printed books in the physical bootleg library, and also the A6 cards I had been producing for my thesis Tasks of the Contingent Librarian. I hoped these would spark conversation about our experiences of sharing files and piracy. The participants wrote notes in a pad as they made user accounts for the digital library, and personal anecdotes came out of our experiences of filesharing during our formative years, bootlegged Britney Spears cds and "chipped" game consoles that could play bootlegged games. Some quite interesting questions arose about our attitudes towards piracy, for example the difference in moral perspective between pirating books, and pirating films. I distributed some blank index cards for participants to write their thoughts on - some of them drew pictures, others stayed within the lines and wrote about texts they would like to download and upload. The interface of the card is a low entry point into being able to contribute texts without speaking out and interrupting a conversation, something I'd like to explore in the future. The cards provide feedback, and then become part of the index.