“Re-purposing” Old books take on a new life

Do you believe in the reincarnation of books?

A text is a collection of black marks on a white page. Like music notes waiting for a musical instrument, it is the reader who brings life to the story. The encounter between the book and the reader creates a new, unique meaning: the reader brings to the text his life experience, his personality, his value and belief system, the boundaries of his imagination, and the story becomes an extension of his life. The reader, in his ability to identify and empathize, activates the sequence of printed words through his personal meanings.

On the public library shelf, books go through a long life between various readers and uses, until the time comes for them to end their role. The bound pages carry memories of age and time, journeys on which the readers embarked, eras and thoughts, and in some cases – crumbs and folded corners. Where do the books go when they are no longer in use? Out-of-date stories, guidebooks that are no longer needed, surplus or flawed copies – the unneeded books are transferred to storage, and are then  taken out of circulation.

Every year, many books are taken out of circulation from the Tel-Aviv libraries, in particular the Beit Ariella Library; they go through a “rite” that includes a  stamp and the hand-written words “taken out”. This is the last stage in the book’s journey throughout the library, accompanied by a strong desire to find these books a new home.

In the past year, we have collected some of these books into a temporary library in the Shenkar Program for Design Curatorial studies, re-imagining their new life through an encounter with young illustrators, graduates from recent years from the visual communication departments. This exhibition  presents new visual-literary creations that stem from the illustrator’s encounter with the marks in the book, new stories that were created inside the old books.

Welcome to our new library – Repurposed Library