bootleg library sessions

The bootleg library sessions are a series of open workshops in which we will:

create user accounts
collectively determine the development of desired features in the library
upload and catalogue texts
classify texts in shelves, both public and private
download, read, annotate and discuss texts
digitise printed matter, including scanning and OCR
design, print and bind books for the physical bootleg library

Description pad: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/Bootleg_Library_Workshop_Sessions_full_text

bootleg library at PZI: introduction

description

The first bootleg library sessions were held in Wijnhaven 61, a building that houses several of the Piet Zwart Institute Master's Departments, including XPUB, Lens-Based, MIARD, and the Master in Arts Education. The building also is home to many bachelor students, and stations where students can prototype work. I decided to run introduction sessions in a small room in the drawing station. I advertised these sessions with posters and flyers, distributed throughout Wijnhaven 61 and the adjacent Blaak building. Sessions were organised as a come-as-you-are basis, running for half-hour intervals, but with an open invitation for attendees to stay as long as they liked. The initial purpose of these sessions was to acquaint attendees with the digital bootleg library, explore the interface, and create registered user accounts. There was also another purpose of meeting with other readers to discuss texts we were reading, and how we gained access to them. I kept an Etherpad document open for each session, where I could take notes on what was discussed.

photos

Poster on Level 4, Wijnhaven 61
Poster in the Blaak building
Flyers

pads

Description pad: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/Bootleg_Library_Workshop_Sessions
bootleg library sessions pad: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/bootleg_library_sessions

bootleg library at Varia's L.E.D. (Library and Electronic Depot)

description

Varia is a collective-space in Gouwstraat, Rotterdam. On the last Sunday of each month they open their doors to the public to read books from their library and repair electronics, in what is known as the L.E.D (Library & Electronic Depot). I asked to hold a bootleg library session at the first L.E.D., which ended up being a sunny, relaxing afternoon sitting on cushions, discussing bootlegs, scanning, piracy, and the type of strategies that the physical bootleg library could employ.

photos

The physical bootleg library and books set up on a table
Section of books
Section of books, cont.
Flyers, in EN & NL
Session participants reading, scanning
Cards used by participants to write suggestions, thoughts

pad

https://pad.xpub.nl/p/Bootleg_Library_at_Varia_text

bootleg library at the Library, Karel Doormanhof 45

description

This bootleg library session was held in a new space at Karel Doormanhof 45, called "The Library". The building is home to studios for Piet Zwart Institute MA Fine Arts participants. The first hour of the session was initially only attended by one other participant, and then others arrived. All told, there session was attended by 5 participants, including myself. The attendees interests were well reflected in the type fo texts we discussed and shared - literary theory, writing, 60s counterculture, the occult and magick. This was the first time I used cards from my thesis in this session - these were distributed over the table, and put on offer for participants to choose and begin conversations about the various tasks I had been writing about; e.g. reading/writing, skimming/scanning, bootlegging, reprinting, uploading/downloading etc. This provided an easy entry point for participants to approach the topic of bootlegging and the contingencies this type of library offered.

photos

Poster inside the Library
Flyers outside the Library
Poster in stairwell
The physical bootleg library, ready to be unpacked
Book uploaded by session participant: The Object Reader
Book uploaded by session participant: The Rhetoric of Fiction
Book uploaded by session participant: Three Steps on the Ladder of Writing
Book uploaded by session participant: S.S.O.T.B.M.E, an Essay on Magic
Book uploaded by session participant: Prometheus Rising
Book uploaded by session participant: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

bootleg library at Meeting Grounds, Onomatopee Projects, Eindhoven

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.