The Berlin Book Studies Network aims to connect Berlin-area scholars and practitioners interested in the history and future of the book, broadly defined.

Berlin has long been a vibrant place for book studies, but much of this work tends to happen in isolation. The Berlin Book Studies Network will provide participants with regular opportunities to share and learn from each other across disciplinary and institutional boundaries. We invite the participation of all who work with books and take an interest in their materiality, whether in the context of university or library, printshop or bookstore, book restauration workshop or publishing house.

The planned monthly meetings in the Berlin State Library’s Stabi Lab (Unter den Linden location) will be organized by members and may take different possible forms. We especially encourage ideas for events that prioritize interaction, discussion, and discovery. Possibilities include: panels on topics such as teaching the history of the book, lightning talks on current research projects, artifact show-and-tell, hands-on workshops, or demonstrations of digital research tools.

We understand “book studies” as an umbrella category that connects different approaches to the materiality of texts—be they manuscript, print, or digital; printed or online periodicals; broadsides, zines, or pamphlets. Other topics might include the history and future of publishing houses and libraries, distribution channels, publication formats, typography, illustration and book design in general.

To accommodate both our local setting in Berlin and the global nature of book studies, the network’s working languages will be English and German.