Conference on libraries and literature

International Conference
Literature in the Library
Friday-Saturday, October 27-28, 1995
open to and free to the public
Dag Hammarskjold Room
School of International and Public Affairs
Columbia University
420 West 118th St., New York


    Libraries, from the Ancient World to the Ancien Regime
    Literary Libraries
    Literature in the Archive
    New Technologies of Reading and the Future of the Book
    Libraries and the Law
    Public Libraries and the Literary Public

We live at a threshold moment in the history of libraries and the
forms of knowledge they imply.  Changes in the techniques of
writing, and of storing and making writing available, have opened
new areas of inquiry into the history and future of the book.

The opening of the global, electronic Bibliotheque de France raises
significant issues concerning the relation among libraries,
literature, and literary studies: the library as a theme and as a
structuring device for literary works; the role of the archive in
literary studies; the historical role of public libraries in France
and the U.S.; libraries and the constitution of literary studies as
a discipline; libraries and other sites of reading such as the
church, the cafe, and domestic space; textuality and
hypertextuality; new technologies of reading; the architecture of
the library and its place in the city; classification--card
catalogues, on-line catalogues--and the canon; literary property in
the age of electronic reproduction; and literature and the state.

Program:

Friday, October 27, 1995

    8:30  Registration (free to the public)

    9:15  Welcoming Remarks, R. Howard Bloch, Chair, Department of
    French and Romance Philology, Columbia University.

    9:30  General Address: Geoffrey Nunberg, Stanford University,
    Xerox Palo Alto Research Center: "The Technologies of
    Reputation"

    Session I: Libraries, From the Ancient World to the Ancien
    Regime

    10:30  James O'Donnell, University of Pennsylvania: "The Virtual
    Library of Latin Late Antiquity"

    11:10  Break

    11:30  Stephen G. Nichols, Johns Hopkins University: "Biblion,
    tekhne, tekha: Writing, Codex, Library in the Thirteenth
    Century"

    Session II

    2:00  Michel Zink, College de France: "Nerval en bibliotheque et
    les archives de l'ame"

    2:40  Henri Mitterand, Columbia University: "La Bibliotheque
    ecartelee"

    3:20  Antoine Compagnon, Columbia University, Universite de
    Paris-Sorbonne: "Checked Out"

    4:00  Break

    Session III

    4:20  Jean Ashton, Director, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Butler
    Library, Columbia University: "The Future of the Past:
    Preservation and Access in the Rare Book Library"

    5:00  Jann Matlock, Harvard University: "Pilfered Letters from
    the Archive"

Saturday, October 28, 1995

    Session IV: New Technologies of Reading and the Future of the
    Book

    9:00  Patrick Bazin, Directeur, Bibliotheque Municipale de Lyon:
    "L'Evolution des modes de lecture a l'ere des reseaux
    electroniques et multimedia"

    9:40  Bernard Stiegler, Universite de Technologie de Compiegnes:
    "'Le Livre, instrument spirituel,' et au-dela"

    10:20  Michael Riffaterre, Columbia University: "Hypertextual
    Approaches to Literature"

    11:00  Break

    Session V: Libraries and the Law

    11:20  Robert Damien, Universite de Besanaon: "Bibliotheque et
    politique au XVII siecle, le cas examplaire de Gabriel Naude"

    12:00  Carla Hesse, University of California, Berkeley:
    "Reconfiguring Literary Practices in the Electronic Library"

    12:40  Jane Ginsburg, Columbia Law School: "Literary Copyright
    in the Age of Electronic Reproduction"

    Session VI: Public Libraries and the Literary Public

    2:40  Helene Merlin, Universite d'Artois: "La Bibliotheque:
    entre public et particulier"

    3:20  Denis Hollier, Yale University: "Library without Reserve:
    Sound in Storage"

    4:00  Break

    4:20  John Ganim, University of California, Riverside: "The
    Haunted Library: Architecture, before and after Postmodernism"

    5:00  Discussion and Concluding Remarks

Organized by the Department of French and Romance Philology,
Columbia University in conjunction with the Maison Francaise.  Made
possible by a grant from the Sterling Currier Fund, The Florence
Gould Fund, and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.

For information, contact

    French Department
    Philosophy Hall
    Columbia University
    New York, NY 10027
    212-854-2500

Judith Klavans

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