Starr Library's Words + Images exhibition is fortunate to include 20+ book objects from the personal collection of The Met's Museum Librarian, Mindell Dubansky. "Blooks" is a term coined by Dubansky to describe "the art of books that aren't." From safes to spice racks, sewing kits to snake gags, book-shaped objects are everywhere. Why are they so appealing? Dubansky suggests that for hundreds of years, makers and manufacturers of "blooks" have infused everyday objects with bookish qualities in order to capitalize on the emotional connections we have with the experience of reading. Hear more about this collection as a whole, which spans over 600 items, as well as the objects in the library's exhibition cases. On view through December 1st. 

About the Speaker:

Mindell Dubansky is a book conservator, librarian, author, and craftsperson. She is Museum Librarian for Preservation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Thomas J. Watson Library. Mindell has authored several monographs on book and paper arts including Pattern and Flow: A Golden Age of American Decorated Paper (2023). Her research on—and collection of—blooks have been featured in exhibitions at the Grolier Club and Bard College; in The New York Times; and on CBS Sunday Morning