Step into the library of the future
Words have to wait for the trees in a Norwegian wood to turn into pages
Some will never know if their books were
appreciated by readers, many of whom aren’t born yet. Every year for 100 years,
a different author will contribute to the “Future Library”, a collection of
works to be published only in the next century.
So far, 1,000 Norwegian spruces planted three
years ago are the only visible sign of this internationally and stylistically
diverse project, each little shrub decorated with a red ribbon in a modest
clearing in a forest on the outskirts of Oslo.
Once they reach 100 years old, in 2114, the
trees will be chopped down and used to make paper for anthologies compiling the
works of the invited writers.
Canadian author Margaret Atwood was the first
one asked to join the initiative in 2015, followed by English novelist David
Mitchell in 2016. This year Icelandic poet Sjon submitted his manuscript — one,
his contemporaries will, in all likelihood, never read.
Unknown audience
“One of the things an author will always deal
with is the fact that there will be readers the author never knows. They might
be on another continent and they might be far away in time. But it’s very rare
to know that no one will read the text while you are alive,” says Mr. Sjon, who
also writes lyrics for Icelandic singer Bjork.
Knowing that he would never see any reactions
to his piece “made my relationship with the text very deep”, he explained.
“Writing in my language, which is the
Icelandic language, was also one of the questions I was faced with because I
don’t know where my language will be in 100 years.” While normally it is the
blank page that awaits the author’s divine inspiration, this time it is the
authors’ words that have to wait for the tree to turn into the pages of a book.
The idea for the library took root in the
imagination of Scottish artist Katie Paterson and was able to grow following a
meeting with Norwegian real estate developers hunting for cultural projects.
“I think that will be very interesting for
those who get to read the manuscripts in 100 years. Because they can reflect
all the way back in time because, 100 years later, who knows what that
civilisation is going to be?” Ms. Paterson says.
But, will we still be reading books in 2114?
Will there still be machines to print books?
“I think it was Umberto Eco, who said the
form of the book can never be improved upon. It’s like the wheel, there’s no
improvement,” says Ms. Paterson.
Source | http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/step-into-the-library-of-the-future/article19165709.ece
Regards
Pralhad Jadhav
Senior Manager @
Knowledge Repository
Khaitan
& Co
Upcoming Lecture | ACTREC - BOSLA Annual lecture series (125th birth anniversary of
father of library science, Padmashree Dr. S. R. Ranganathan) on Saturday, 12th August 2017 at
Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC),
Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. (Theme |
'MakerSpace')
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