18 November 2021

International Conference "Theatrum Libri: The Press, Reading and Dissemination in Early Modern Europe"

The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, commemorating the centenary of the first archive in the Republic of Lithuania, kindly invites you to the international conference “Theatrum Libri: The Press, Reading and Dissemination in Early Modern Europe,” which will take place on December 1-3.

In the early modern period, the word theatrum very often was used in a metaphorical way in book titles. The representatives and publishers of the Renaissance and Baroque era quickly realized the appeal of the word “theater,” which usually meant the accumulation, systematization, and orderly sorting of inexhaustible knowledge on a subject.

In this historical period, the archiving of knowledge was perceived as a conscious and purposeful action. Researchers from Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Italy, France, Portugal, the United States, India, the United Kingdom, Poland and the Czech Republic will share their latest research, methods, as well as application of digital humanities and computational history in book research. They will discuss the printed book and manuscript as an archival phenomenon in terms of content (knowledge accumulation) and form (book aggregation) and analyze the dynamics of book creation, its structure and press in socio-cultural environment, highlight the role of author, publisher, distributor, reader and book accumulator.

The international conference is part of the cycle “Theatrum Libri.” We kindly invite you to the opening of the exhibition “Theatrum Libri” that will take place in the Exhibition Hall of the National Library of Lithuania (3rd Floor) on December 1 at 5:30 p.m.

The conference will take place live (Conference Hall, 5th floor) and remotely via ZOOM.

Conference programm (download PDF ›)

Those interested in the participation at the conference are asked to register.

Sponsors: Lithuanian Council for Culture, Nordplus and the project “Going beyond Search: Advancing Digital Competencies in Libraries and Research Communities (NPHZ-2019/10075)

Partners: Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore and National Museum of Lithuania

Organizer: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania