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The BABEL Conference 2015: Off the Books, University of Toronto, October 9 -11

Alexander Kuskis's avatarMcLuhan Galaxy

This is a conference that McLuhanists and media ecologists, among others, would be interested in.

Kernan_Books_02

*an image from Sean Kernan, Secret Books

BABEL Conference: OFF THE BOOKS: Making, Breaking, Binding, Burning, Leaving, Gathering

The BABEL Working Group is a non-hierarchical scholarly collective and para-institutional desiring-assemblage. BABEL’s chief commitment is the cultivation of a more mindful being-together with others who work alongside us in the ruined towers of the rubble of the post-historical university. 

From Oct. 9-11, the University of Toronto will host the BABEL Working Group Conference “OFF THE BOOKS: Making, Breaking, Binding, Burning, Leaving, Gathering.” The conference has a dual focus: on the one hand, a rigorous study of book history and media studies, and on the other, serious discussions about academic activism, para-academic pursuits, and the current state and future directions of the modern university. The conference also has a number of artistic and performative contributions.

The…

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Delrin Lifting Tool

lifting1
Top of Delrin lifting tool. The tip is sharp for about an inch on each side. The rest of the tool edges are rounded for a comfortable grip..
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Detail of the general shape of the tip.
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Detail of the gradual reduction in thickness at the tip.

This delrin lifting tool is useful for general lifting, mechanical backing removal, and whenever you need to gently pry or delaminate something. Both book and paper conservators will find this an essential component of their toolkit. Although it is thicker than the carbon fiber lifter I make and sell, it has a slightly lower coefficient of friction, so slides a bit better, and it is more ridgid. If you like your teflon lifter but are tired of how easily the cutting edge bends, this might be the tool for you. Obviously, it is not as durable as metal.  But it is always great to have as wide of a range of tools as possible.  These delrin lifters are hand sharpened to achieve the best possible balance between initial cutting performance and edge retention. The edge is easy to maintain by sanding or scraping. Click on “Tool Catalog” above for ordering information.

DELRIN LIFTING TOOL.  Around 12 x 1 x .125″.  $40

 

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The Importance of Papryus in the Sixth Century

In the sixth century, Cassiodorus wrote this wonderful description of the impact of writing on papyrus on the thought process:

“Before [papyrus was discovered] the sayings of the wise, the thoughts of the ancients were in danger. For how could the writer have been able to write quickly, when, the hardness of the bark resisting him he would scarcely have been able to be ready? The excitement of the mind submits to the unfitting hindrances; when the words are harassed, the mental powers are compelled to grow lukewarm … This was fit only for the beginnings of the world. Then papyrus was discovered, and therewith was eloquence made possible … So smooth and so continuous, the snowy entrails of a green herb, which keeps the sweet harvest of the mind, and resorts it to the reader whenever he chooses to consult it; which is the faithful witness to all human action.”

-Elspeth Whitney, “Paradise Restored: The Mechanical Arts from Antiquity through the Thirteenth Century”, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 80, Part 1, (1990): 67.