Launched as part of the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s first folio which went on display at the Library of Trinity College Dublin on the 13th April (“Shakespeare the Irishman”), the Trinity Centre for the Book aspires to make Trinity a world leader in the field of the history of the book.
The new Centre is led by Dr Mark Faulkner, School of English, and will focus on historical questions around the origins and development of writing systems, literatures and literary cultures. It will also engage with issues around literacy, reading and wellbeing, and with policy around maximising access to Ireland’s written cultural heritage.
The centre will capitalise on Trinity’s outstanding Library collections that span thousands of years, from the Egyptian Books of the Dead to the Library’s rapid response collecting initiative ‘Living in Lockdown’ – a hybrid collection of physical works and born digital submissions.
The centre will also harness the university’s significant concentration of expertise, with more than 150 researchers publishing over 1,000 works on book history over the last ten years. This includes expertise from academic staff across English, Arts History, Modern Languages, Classics, History, Religions, Education and Computer Science.
From the use of written word to recent developments in non-alphabetic forms of communication such as emojis and the emergence of AI-driven content generation engines such as ChatGPT, the Centre will look at all aspects of the history of the book to broaden our understanding of its rich cultural and social importance, and the role it has played in communicating knowledge and lived experience across millennia.
Left to right: Dr. Nicole Volmering, Ms. Estelle Gittins, Dr. Mark Faulkner, Professor Eve Patten, Dr. Anna Mc Sweeney and Dr. Catherine Barbour pictured at the launch of the Centre for the Book.
The Centre for the Books activities will be organised under four strands: The History of Writing; Text and Image; Writing in Society; and Sharing the Book.
Professor Eve Patten, Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub said:
“We are delighted to welcome the new Centre for the Book into our institute and have no doubt that this Centre will be a trailblazer for the study of the History of the Book around the world, given the considerable experience and knowledge of its team and associated researchers. Over years, the work of the Manuscript, Book and Print Cultures research theme has laid the ground for many ambitious research initiatives, and we’re incredibly proud that the Centre represents another stepping stone in this journey.”
In 2017, the Trinity Long Room Hub held a year-long lecture series which told the stories of lesser known medieval manuscripts from the Library of Trinity College Dublin. ‘Beyond the Book of Kells’ was also led by Dr Mark Faulkner and organised in association with the Manuscript, Book and Print Cultures research theme.
Mark Faulkner, Ussher Assistant Professor in Medieval Literature and Director of the Trinity Centre for the Book, commented:
“Trinity’s Library has an outstanding collection of Shakespearean material; and this excellence is mirrored in its holdings of medieval manuscripts, early printed books and the archives of authors, politicians, thinkers and many others. The new Trinity Centre for the Book will harness these outstanding collections and the university’s significant concentration of experts across its three faculties and the Library to further our understanding of one of society’s most important technologies – the book.”
“We would be delighted to hear from any academics, information professionals, students or members of the public with an interest in the Book.”
For more information on the Centre for the Book, visit: www.tcd.ie/thebook or email thebook@tcd.ie