Registration is open for the annual A. Dean Larsen Book Collecting Conference.
Featured sessions:
The Origins of the Book in the Americas 9:00 AM Mark Christensen (BYU Department of History), Mary Eyring (BYU Department of English), Matthew J.K. Hill (BYU Library), Jordan Jones (BYU Department of Spanish & Portuguese)
Books arrived in the New World as part of various colonial projects, but there were existing traditions of recordkeeping in the Americas before European contact. Panelists will trace the early history of the book in the Americas, from the pre-Columbian period through the arrival of European cultures, outlining the approaches that the English, Spanish, and Portuguese took to establishing printing and print culture in their American colonies.
Paper in Territorial Utah 3:00 PM Richard Saunders (Southern Utah University) Paper is an essential element, needed to replicate the literate culture the saints knew when they arrived in Utah. It was likely the first material product selected specifically for investment in the still-new Great Basin community. The story of paper production in Utah Territory represents the Mormons’ drive for self-sufficiency. Attendees will walk through three periods of the territory’s paper production, illustrating the story with examples of Utah’s locally produced paper.