The Many Hands of Book History
Conference of the Bibliographical Society of Canada / Société bibliographique du Canada
8-9 June 2026, University of Toronto
The Bibliographical Society of Canada invites proposals for its annual conference on the theme, The Many Hands of Book History. Drawing on Robert Darnton’s foundational article “What is the History of Books”(1985), this conference turns toward the expanded, evolving, and interdependent networks that shape book history. Darnton’s Communications Circuit model traced the movement of books through multiple hands and bibliographers today continue to stretch, challenge, and reimagine that circuit. This year’s theme considers books not simply as paper, ink, and binding, but as profoundly collaborative objects shaped at every stage by labour, creativity, culture, ownership, and interpretation.
We invite participants to explore the diverse social, material, and cultural processes through which books—broadly conceived—have been created, preserved, circulated, and transformed. We encourage papers that explore interactions between any hands involved with the book, including creators, artists, printers, illustrators, binders, publishers, booksellers, readers, collectors, archivists, scholars, and communities. We also welcome contributions that provoke new methodological, material, and theoretical questions—especially from disciplines and practitioners who may not always identify themselves as “book people.”
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Materiality and Meaning: How formats, illustration, binding, decoration, wear, repair, and digital remediation shape the interpretation, circulation, and preservation of textual objects.
- Books as Collaborative and Communal Objects: The ways in which book creation fosters shared identities, reflects or silences human experience, and emerges from the labour and creativity of diverse communities.
- Research Centered on Marginalized Voices: Studies of book culture by, for, and/or from 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, BIPOC communities, persons with disabilities, women, and/or religious or cultural groups.
- Analogue and Digital Materialities: From parchment, paper, ink, and leather to bits, bytes, algorithms, and born-digital forms; questions of reprinting, digitization, open access, and remediation.
- Tools, Methods, and Approaches: Bibliography, critical theory, scientific analysis, digital humanities, artificial intelligence, data-driven research, and other interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary methods.
- Pedagogy and Practice: Teaching with books and cultural heritage materials; hands-on learning; community-engaged scholarship; and the impact of archival and material encounters on students, communities, and other learners.
- The Diverse Forms and Functions of “The Book” Across Time and Place: Manuscripts, archives, zines, artists’ books, digital platforms, print ephemera, community publications, and experimental or hybrid forms.
This conference emphasizes welcoming participation across fields and career stages, including students, early-career researchers, conservators, librarians, book artists, digital humanists, bibliographers, and scholars working within or alongside book history and bibliography. Proposals may engage with material, visual, scientific, technological, or community-based approaches; with Canadian or international contexts; and with intersectional, cross-cultural, and transnational perspectives.
Proposals:
Proposals for twenty-minute conference presentations, entire panels (three presentations), or hour-long workshops may be submitted in English or French. Proposals, which must be submitted via the online form, must include the following elements:
- Title of presentation/panel/workshop
- Abstract indicating argument, context, and methods (max. 250 words)
- Bio (50-100 words) including full name, professional designation (e.g., graduate student, faculty, librarian, researcher etc.), and institutional affiliation or place
In order to accommodate financial and accessibility issues, this conference will be presented in a limited hybrid capacity. Please specify whether your proposal is for an in-person or online presentation when submitting. Priority will be given to in-person presentations, and online presentations must be recorded and submitted prior to the conference.
Applicants to the Emerging Scholar Prize must also include:
- Cover letter (1 p.) explaining the applicant’s suitability for the prize
- CV (max. 3 pp.)
- Proof of student status or of graduation within the past two years (copy of diploma, student identification, or official or unofficial transcript)
Deadline: 30 January 2026
For more information: https://event.fourwaves.com/bsc/pages
Publishing in the Archives Profession 