Printed Books Research Articles

An interview with Jesse R. Erickson, Astor Curator of Printed Books & Bindings, The Morgan Library & Museum

An interview with Jesse R. Erickson, Astor Curator of Printed Books & Bindings, The Morgan Library & Museum

The French-language translated book of Russia of the second third of the 18th century: features of the repertoire and importance for book culture

Importance. The beginning of the process of interaction between Russian and French book cultures was laid by the era of the Europeanisation of Peter I. The Russian autocrat tirelessly sought to bring his country among the leading countries of the world, to smooth out the difference between Russia and the West. The nobility, the most educated stratum of society at that time, was to become the main conductor of the reformer’s advanced aspirations. The aim of the research is to study the significance for the Russian book culture of the French–language translated book of the second third of the 18th century.Materials and Methods. The comparative historical method makes it possible to establish the correlation of the role of French literature in the distribution of printed materials in the Russian Empire. The use of the comparative analysis method, which made it possible to comprehensively study the role of foreign literature in the bookselling process in the Russian Empire of the 18th century, plays an important role in the study.Results and Discussion. The inclusion of a work in the publishing list was conditioned by the community demand, which allows us to speak about the development of the book culture of Russia in the second quarter of the 18th century. In order to capture readers’ mood better, the specialists of the Academy of Sciences found out the specialists’ opinion about publications.Conclusion. By the middle of the 18th century, the Academy of Sciences had prepared translations of valuable treatises on history, literature, mathematics, psychology and pedagogy, enriching Russian book culture with advanced European bestsellers. This period of the Academy’s activity should be regarded as a new stage in the development of book printing in Russia, which created significant prerequisites for the rapid rise of interest in French culture in the second half of the 18th century.

Talking back to the failing-schools narrative

PDK polls consistently show that parents give their children’s schools high marks but are dissatisfied with the performance of public schools nationally. This paradox may be explained by the persistent narrative of failing public schools that has dominated media coverage in the past 50 years. Authors Mark Hlavacik and Jack Schneider tracked the prevalence of the failing-schools narrative in print publications, books, and other media. They found connections between national coverage of education and local education reporting. This national narrative of failing schools uses public schools as a scapegoat, which absolves us of our collective responsibility to each other. A more nuanced and multifaceted narrative of public schools is needed.

The outline of Levas Vladimirovas' professional career

Levas Vladimirovas, born on February 27, 1912, is an outstanding authority in the field of modern Soviet library science, as well as the history of books and libraries. The essential part of Levas Vladimirovas' life and his entire scientific and teaching career is closely linked with Vilnius University. After World War II, he lectured on Marxism-Leninism (1948), the history of the book, and library science (1951). He was the first head of the Department of Library Science (1952-1964) and later the Department of Library and Information Science (1970-1973). Since 1973, Levas Vladimirovas has been the head of the Department of Information Science. Additionally, between the years 1948-1964, he served as the director of the university library. Between 1964-1970, Levas Vladimirovas was elected director of the UNO Dag Hammarskjöld Library. His contribution to the development of the library is immense. Levas Vladimirovas was also a member of various international library organizations and institutions. Alongside his many-sided teaching, library, and social activities, Levas Vladimirovas has made significant contributions to science. More than 300 publications in Lithuanian, Russian, English, and other languages are attributed to his pen. The focus of Levas Vladimirovas' research lies in the history of Lithuanian books, libraries, and culture during the feudal and capitalist periods. He was the first to investigate both known and new phenomena in the Lithuanian cultural heritage through the lens of Marxist methodology. Among his most outstanding works are Essays on the History of the Book and Libraries in Lithuania (XV cent. to 1917) ("Lietuvos bibliotekų ir knygos istorijos bruožai (XV a.-1917 m.)", 1965); publications dedicated to the pioneers of book printing in Vilnius—F. Skorina and I. Fedorov; and works on the history of Vilnius University and its library. L. Vladimirovas' comprehensive work The History of the Book ("Knygos istorija", 1979) provides a broad panorama of world book history, starting with primitive scripts up to the 17th century. In 1962, for his teaching, scientific, and social activities, Levas Vladimirovas was awarded the title of Honored Art Worker of the Lithuanian SSR. The professor was also among those who were awarded the Lithuanian State Prize for The History of Vilnius University ("Vilniaus universiteto istorija") in three volumes.

The First Sale Doctrine and Public Library Provision of Print and Electronic Books

Abstract Libraries deliver the majority of US book consumption, and library costs are kept low by the first sale doctrine's guarantee that libraries can lend print books without additional compensation to publishers. However, publishers' decisions to restrict ebook access may threaten libraries. We measure impacts of holdings on circulation; and library holdings choices suggest that library managers value instances of ebook circulation more than print. We use a structural model of patron demand and library holdings to show that more restrictive print book terms would have ten times the negative patron welfare impact of an equivalent restriction on ebooks.

Augmented reality books: in-depth insights into children's reading engagement.

Children's reading engagement is associated with the quality of their reading experiences and outcomes; however, research to date has only examined children's reading engagement within the context of traditional print books or digital texts. Augmented Reality represents a hybrid reading experience, where traditional paper books are augmented with digital features (e.g., animations, sounds, comprehension questions). This is the first study to examine children's perspectives and experiences of AR books, within the context of reading engagement. In total, 38 demographically diverse children (aged 8-10, 21 male, 17 English as an Additional Language, 14 ethnicities, nine with teacher-reported reading difficulties) from the UK participated. After reading an AR book, children participated in interviews about their reading engagement. Deductive (themes) and inductive (subthemes) approaches to thematic analysis were used, examining children's AR reading experiences within the context of their behavioral, cognitive, affective and social engagement. The majority of children found AR books easy to use, and provided examples of how AR books supported their behavioral engagement (e.g., desire to read more/extend reading practices), altered their cognitive engagement (e.g., reading strategies, visual representation/use of imagination, comprehension monitoring), influenced their affective engagement: (e.g., diverse positive feelings), and social engagement (e.g., prompted interaction and discussion), providing examples suggesting similarities and differences with traditional print books. This paper provides novel in-depth insights into children's perspectives and experiences of AR books, and provides a foundation for researchers, educators, and AR book designers interested in better supporting children's reading experiences and outcomes with AR books.

Optimizing Civics Learning in High School through the Use of Print Books and Online Learning Resources

Optimizing Civics Learning in High School through the Use of Print Books and Online Learning Resources

Publishing and literature sale in Russian and foreign languages as a means of modernization of Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century

RELEVANCE. The problem of studying the relationship between the originality of Russian culture and the degree of foreign influence on its development is currently acquiring significant relevance. At the same time, the culturological approach, which describes the development of domestic social thought in the paradigm of “progressive – reactionary”, “ours – not ours,” gives way to an analysis of the specifics of the Russian reality of culture as an object of transfer, adaptation and reception of ideas and concepts taking place at different stages of social development. and reception of ideas and concepts taking place at different stages of social development. The purpose of the study is to comprehensively characterize the publishing business and the sale of literature in Russian and foreign languages in the first quarter of the 18th century.MATERIALS AND METHODS. In our opinion, for a comprehensive study of the problem of modernization in Russia in the 18th century, it is necessary to take into account hidden factors that reveal the experience of transmitting Western ideas. The most important of them include the practice of distributing European literature, which ensures the formation of a certain cultural environment.RESULT AND DISCUSSION. Purchasing foreign publications from foreigners living in Russia became an extremely common practice. It was in this way that the “Universal and Historical Lexicon” in German arrived in the library of Peter I. The autocrat personally ordered the purchase of this publication from foreign guests of St. Petersburg and a Russian translation of this work. Those books that could not be purchased personally were purchased by enterprising readers in the Baltic states or ordered from abroad through foreign merchants and Russian travelers.CONCLUSION. A study of the issues of book printing and book sales of Peter the Great’s time shows the enormous importance of published literature for the dissemination of progressive ideas and scientific knowledge in all layers of reading society. In a short period of time, Peter I was able to organize the production of a huge number of printed works and create conditions for their distribution throughout the country.

The Implication of Financial Literacy Education Integration for Pupils at Primary School in Cambodia

Key Messages The project Cha-Ching “Basic Financial Literacy” has been successful in equipping pupils at primary schools with the necessary knowledge and skills for managing money from an early age. Integration of financial literacy into educational curricula at primary schools, ensuring students are equipped with practical financial skills emphasizing the concepts of Earn, Save, Spend, and Donate to prepare for 21st Century Skills before entering adulthood and support to local life skills needed. Training and support for teachers and pre-service teacher to enhance their understanding of financial concepts and effective teaching methodologies, enabling them to deliver high-quality financial education for pupils at primary school in Cambodia. The Provincial Department of Education, Youth and Sport and the District office of Education, Youth and Sport should consider promoting financial literacy to other schools (public and private schools) and continue to work with the target schools throughout the capacity building and follow-up to ensure newly enrolled pupils received the financial education. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS): 1.) should consider promoting financial literacy by developing a legal framework and guidelines adopting financial literacy into the life-skill curriculum for primary schools. 2.) Consider allocating an annual budget for capacity building and printing of teaching and learning books, and allocating the yearly budget for printing and distributing Cha-Ching’s books for pupils nationwide. The Prudence Foundation or other donors should consider promoting financial literacy and supporting to implementation of the Cha-Ching Money Smart Kids “basic financial literacy” widely at primary schools in Cambodia.

Attribution of Fragments of the 16th–18th Centuries’ Early Printed Books from the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine: Informational Potential and Practical Experience

The publication describes various cases of attributing fragments of editions from the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine. The attribution included the identification of extracts from the text, authentication of sheets used as flyleaves, and waste paper sheets. It is shown in the examples that the binding shops at the printing houses of Ostroh, Lviv, Kyiv, and Chernihiv actively used waste paper. The article describes cases when the attribution of editions assembled from fragments, the Vilnius Gospel in particular, became the reason for a scientific study and catalogue of the Gospels of 1575–1644 in the library collection. The attribution of fragments of several different editions allowed us to identify unknown printing variants, and to form the complete Gospel text. Printed engravings inserted into books also provide interesting material for further research. The practice of studying them has shown that sometimes they are previously unknown artistic monuments by famous engravers, for example, Hryhorii Levytskyi and Ivan Myhura. The usage of various methods of work, such as the study of the history of engravings, a comprehensive analysis of their state of preservation, the establishment of the history of the copies’ use, and the study of paper filigrees, prove that book engravings were also printed for independent distribution. In particular, we are referring to images of evangelists associated with the names of Petro Mstyslavets and Pamva Berinda. The study of printed inserts of engravings, illustrations, and texts into manuscript codices is an interesting and promising area of research

The Cyrillic Early Printed Books of Univ and Pochaiv: Peculiarities of Editions, Experience of Scientific Cataloguing

The article deals with the Cyrillic early printed books and one-sheet prints of printing houses of Univ and Pochaiv monasteries (the middle of 17th–18th centuries) from the depository of V. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine, which were described for the scientific catalogues. During the copy-by-copy research of Univ and Pochaiv early printed books, many one-sheet editions and editions without titles and source data were discovered, catalogued for the first time, and included in the chronology of the Ukrainian Cyrillic printing. All findings are displayed in the article. Letter by Varlaam Sheptyckyi and counterfeit Univ editions of Euchologions are among them. Univ and Pochaiv publications form an important part of Ukraine’s historical and cultural heritage.

Fragments of the Ukrainian Book Collections in the Ossolineum’s Holdings of Early Printed Books in Wrocław

The article describes fragments of book collections from five Ukrainian institutions – the Shevchenko Scientific Society, the “Studion” in Lviv, “Ridna Shkola” Ukrainian Pedagogical Society, the National Museum in Lviv, and the Greek Catholic Chapter in Przemyśl – which are currently housed in the Early Printed Books Department at the Ossolineum in Wrocław. In addition to the list of books from these collections, the publication provides a brief overview of their history and fortunes after World War II and the circumstances under which these books found their way to the collection of the Ossoliński National Institute in Wrocław.

Home literacy environment, digital media and vocabulary development in preschool children

A child’s vocabulary ability may be influenced by many different factors in their home environment. The present study focused on supportive aspects in home environments and the relation to children’s vocabulary size through an online study where 166 parents of children aged 47.63 months (range 33.7–59.9 months) responded. Children’s home literacy environments were positively associated with children’s vocabulary size. Aspects of the home environment such as the parents engaging in teaching colors, and letters and talking about daily activities showed a positive association with vocabulary size. Print book reading was important, but the number of books the parents read did not seem to be associated with vocabulary size, rather whether the parent was engaging in dialogical reading and discussing the books, explaining the content, and relating the content to the life of the child mattered. Digital media (screen media and digital games) did not show a positive association with vocabulary, regardless of content or parents’ joint media engagement. Watching screen media showed a negative association with developing vocabulary. This association was, however, ameliorated when positive influences and activities in the home literacy environment were present.

The Impact of English Printed Books on Improving Students’ English Reading Skills in Twelve Years of Basic Education in Remote Areas: A Case Study of Muhanga District, Rwanda

The Impact of English Printed Books on Improving Students’ English Reading Skills in Twelve Years of Basic Education in Remote Areas: A Case Study of Muhanga District, Rwanda

Life After Lovelace: A Select Bibliography of Women in Computer Science

This bibliography provides a planning aid to librarians developing or strengthening collections with diverse books on women in computer science. It emphasizes print books published since 2012 focusing on histories, biographies, fictional and nonfiction works, and juvenile and children’s books. Subjects include pioneers in the field including Ada Lovelace, Katherine Johnson, Grace Hopper, and contemporary leaders.

LAS TRIACAS, AYER Y HOY

The history of theriaca reveals several attributes of humankind in their relation to medicine that enriches their present understanding. A compound of numerous simples, it reigned through twenty centuries as a panacea against diverse ailments, was a symbol of therapeutic progress, and sustained the interest and hope of learned and lay people of many cultures and civilizations. Its fame and commercial success drove the apparition of copies and falsifications that have persisted under the names of their creators, the city of origin, or some special char­acteristics. Most famous are mithridatium, theriaca magna of Andromachus, diatessaron or of the poor, and Venice theriaca. Of Greeks origin, it grew in fame mainly due to Galen and an unknown contemporary in Rome. Byzantine, Arab and Persian medical authors, and later others in Montpellier, Salerno and Padua, preserved the ancient writings and elaborated on them. The apparition of bubonic plague meant an enormous impulse to its use, augmented by the commercial strategy of Venice, and amplified by the printing of numerous pamphlets and books. The Scientific Revolution and the diffusion of its ideas marked the beginning of its decline, but it was still present in most European pharmacopeias until the end of the 19th cen­tury. We propose that fear, greed and credulity were seminal factors in its success, conditions still present today in medical marketing, quackery and falsifications, unnecessary care, medical consumerism, and unregulated alternative medicines and cosmetic industries.

Intelligibility of English Vocabulary for Young Learners in EFL Context: Digital Book Vs Printed Book on Listening and Pronunciation Skills

This study explores young learners’ intelligibility of English vocabulary for young learners in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context using Digital Books vs Printed Books which focus on listening and pronunciation skills. The intelligibility was measured from listening tests. The research is an experimental study with a pretest–posttest control group design. Sixty-one out of 156 elementary level from grade 4th were taken randomly thirty students belonged to the control group while another thirty belonged to the experimental group. This study applied the Mann-Whitney Test. The result showed that young learners with digital books outperformed listening and pronunciation for young learners in the EFL context. In short, digital books with listening and pronunciation are very beneficial for young learners in acquiring EFL vocabulary.

Drawing attention to print or meaning: How parents read with their preschool‐aged children on paper and on screens

BackgroundShared reading is an important opportunity for parents and children to connect and learn, which can support later independent reading skills. Much of the research to date has examined shared reading as parents read physical print books with their children. This research has demonstrated that parents tend to engage in more activities that emphasise the meaning of the stories over the code (i.e., print). Here, we examine the focus of shared reading when parents are reading with their children on paper versus on a digital device and whether this differs across the preschool years.MethodsA total of 253 parents of children aged 0–5 years completed an online self‐report questionnaire. Parents reported on the frequency of engaging in meaning‐ versus code‐related activities during shared book reading on paper and on screen with their youngest child. We conducted a linear regression analysis contrasting code‐ versus meaning‐related activities on paper versus screen modality with age as a continuous variable.ResultsKey to our objectives, parents reported engaging in meaning‐related activities more frequently during shared reading on paper versus on screens and in code‐related activities more frequently during shared reading on screens than on paper. These effects did not differ across age, although overall, parents reported engaging slightly more frequently in shared reading activities in general when their child was older.ConclusionsThe findings show that parents are engaging with their children differently as they read together on paper versus screens. Consistent with prior research, we found that activities emphasising the meaning of stories dominate shared paper book reading experiences in the preschool years. Critically shared reading on screens tips this balance, with parents reporting more code‐related activities. These patterns identify the learning opportunities enabled by the affordances of shared reading on screens.

Treading the Spiral: Intermediality, Spatiality, and Materiality in Lance Olsen’s Theories of Forgetting

Abstract In his 2014 intermedial word-image novel Theories of Forgetting, Lance Olsen focuses on human life’s transience, impermanence, and fragility through his major characters, Alana and Hugh, and their children, who read their parents’ diaries. The ideas about the fleeting nature of human lives are presented through intermedial configurations in the novel which are rendered through experimental usage of the topography of the page, hypertextual design, and inclusion of photographs and various visual media which altogether redefine the spatiality and materiality of the novel. The initial construction of the spatial form in the work comes from postmodernist narrative elements. Spatiality and space gain further significance in the novel’s fictional world, or narrative space, with Robert Smithson’s earthwork Spiral Jetty, which aims to show change, regression, and disintegration in nature as well as being the main inspiration in the ekphrastic ventures of the novel. Alana, one of the characters, works on a short documentary film on Spiral Jetty, leading her to think and question time and space and how space is subject to change with time. Hugh, another character, is a traveler in distant places like Europe, the Middle East, and Jordan, all of which turn into metaphors that help to shape the narrative and represent the mental spaces of its characters. Besides these stories on and about space, the print book also becomes a site rich with photographs, visual media, and verbal text. Through intermediality, the novel portrays a complex depiction of space at structural, narrative, and material levels. Such a presentation of the stories with postmodernist elements and hypertext and a critical sensibility of the materiality of the print medium turn the work into an art object to be viewed and read.1

Global perspectives: library professionals' views on multimedia books in airlines

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the potential impact and passenger perceptions of integrating multimedia books within airline services, aiming to elucidate the evolving landscape of in-flight entertainment and reading experiences.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative research methodology was used, using a structured questionnaire distributed to presenters at the International Federation of Library Associations.FindingsAnalysis revealed varying passenger interest in multimedia books, with approximately 57.7% displaying engagement, while 40.4% demonstrated limited interest or none. However, a notable majority (60.6%) preferred multimedia books over traditional print books during flights. Furthermore, 90.4% perceived a positive impact of multimedia books on flight reading experiences, leading to increased satisfaction (81.7%) and a high likelihood of recommending airlines offering such content (91.3%).Research limitations/implicationsThe study's limitations include a specific focus on International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) presenters, potentially limiting broader generalisations. Further research might explore the preferences of a wider demographic range and incorporate qualitative aspects to deepen understanding. Airlines could leverage multimedia books to enhance passenger satisfaction, attract diverse audiences and foster cultural inclusivity within in-flight entertainment.Originality/valueThis study contributes insights into the evolving landscape of in-flight entertainment, emphasising the significant potential and positive impact of integrating multimedia books within airline services. It underscores the importance of catering to diverse passenger preferences and enhancing overall satisfaction during air travel.