Read

READ responds to the dramatic changes taking place in libraries as the digital format replaces the physical. Librarians are faced with discarding tonnes of books as rows of shelving are dismantled and spaces are realigned to suit the current zeitgeist. The project was instigated by Juliet Beale, the librarian at the Carington Smith Art Library, University of Tasmania. It is based on the concept that books and reading have the power to transform our thinking – and that the experience of engaging with a book, no matter what the format, can be encouraged through art and design. READ honours the place of books, and recognises the emerging nostalgia for the time of the book, and the strong emotional responses people have to books as artefacts. It uses red paint, text, discarded books and comfortable furniture to create a contemplative, ruminative place, the luxurious space of sifting through ideas, which is often associated with the book rather than the flickering digital screen.