Bogota’s 2013 Book Fair: A Brief “Recorrido”

By the time I arrived in Colombia’s capital for the 2013 Bogotá Book Fair (Filbo) the book festival had already opened its doors to the public, with a group of SALAMistas among those in attendance. A la caza de los libros noted Wisconsin’s Paloma Celis Carbajal as she joined an eager weekend crowd of book enthusiasts.

One of the first stops was Arte Dos Gráfico. Our library already holds a large selection of their artist books, and after a two year absence from the Fair, there were bound to be novedades to enhance ours and the collections of other SALALM libraries.

Thanks to my SALALM colleagues who had already explored the many pabellones, on my first day at the fair I knew I should stop by the aisle housing several independent publishers: Luna, Laguna, and La Silueta that were new to many of us. Their collective output ranged from detective fiction to graphic novels. Along with Tragaluz, they provided a representative sample of quality titles from the independent press.

The ever present e-book could also be found at Filbo, and not just at the “bigigies.” The independents have realized that a new community of readers expects digital content and some of them now sell e-book cards at over 12 bookshops in Bogotá where lectores can buy an e-book and upload it to their laptop, ipad, etc. They are also available for several e-readers. An adventurer SALAMista wanted some detective fiction and bought an e-card on the spot. We hope to hear a report on that experience.

The fair is divided into several pabellones, with some publishers having a presence at all of them, often confusing but also reminding a tired Californian of the variety of Colombia’s publishing output. This year Portugal was the featured country and fair publicity included several allusions to a “sea of books” that “engulfed the reader.”

At one of the booths selling remainders “from the best publishers in the world,” the vendedor seemed certain that my accent was from Spain and asked if I knew the Nobel laureates from the other side of the Atlantic. I named what I could remember (Cela, Benavente and Echegaray) and he asked, “were they any good?” I was tempted to give him the polite version of NPI (no puedo informarle), but opted for “algunos mas que otros.”

Wondering through a sea of books one can find the unexpected, like a cookbook (Cocina criolla cartagenera de Veddá Veddá, OCLC: 757913880) from Transformemos, which has been honored at a culinary contest in Paris, as the radio report notes. An earlier video showcased the proud Cartageneros long before their recetas de cocina were to become an international sensation.

After an exhausting 2 days at the crowded Corferia aisles, a late afternoon excursion to the movies became an adventure through a cartelera dominated by foreign titles, with only one Colombian production that turned out to be the right choice: Roa. The film explores the 1948 killing of a well-known political leader in what became the Bogotazo, that left more than 3,000 dead and ushered in a period of political violence. It’s based on the novel El crimen del siglo and has been reissued with the protagonist on the cover to capitalize on what is certain to become a local hit, which we hope can reach the art house circuit in the United States.

Although he has lived away for many years, Gabriel García Márquez, Colombia’s Nobel laureate, dominates the literary scene and he is being introduced to a new generation of readers via a graphic novel (Gabo memorias de una vida mágica) published simultaneously in Colombia and Spain.

On the last day the weather indicated rain and a visit to Librería Lerner seemed like good way to supplement Filbo’s offering. The Lerner-Norte staff endured the capricious requests of 2 SALAmistas, at times bombarding the knowledgeable Don Willie with an avalanche of non-existent titles: “todas la reinas in the title and published by la gallina ciega,” insisted yours truly. Don Willie patiently looked around and found it, Locas de felicidad (OCLC: 611409632) published by La iguana ciega!

The 2013 Filbo will be open to the public for 14 days. It expects over 400,000 vistors, among them would have been a group of SALALM and REFORMA librarians whose visit was supported by book fair organizers: Cámara Colombiana del Libro and Proexport. The group’s visit was highlighted on the book fair’s blog.

Adan Griego,
Curator for Iberoamerican Collections
Stanford University Libraries

Images/Photos
1) Feria del Libro

2) Hortensia Calvo (Tulane), Teresa Chapa (North Carolina-Chapel Hill), courtesy of Adan Griego

3) E-books, courtesy of Adan Griego

4) Entrance to Portugal’s Pabellón, courtesy of Paloma Celis-Carbajal (Wisconsin)

5) Gabo graphic novel, publisher image.

6) Lerner Book shop staff, courtesy of Adan Griego

7) SALALM librarians, courtesy of Adan Griego

See other images in Facebook

Tags: book fairs, Colombia
Category SALALM Blog, SALALM Speaks |

Dumb Assessment to Smart Assessment: Measuring Student Learning

Do you assess your instruction or research classes? Not sure where to begin? Think it’s all a waste of time? You need to attend the amazingly titled “Dumb Assessment to Smart Assessment: Measuring Student Learning” workshop to be held at SALALM this year.

Designed and facilitated by Anne Barnhart, AJ Johnson, Meagan Lacy and Alison Hicks, this workshop will focus on the assessment of library instruction.  We’ll take student learning outcomes focused on Latin American Studies-related topics and then create assessment tools with appropriate evaluation rubrics. Facilitators will guide participants through the creation of measurable assessment tools and practical rubrics. Participants will learn about the value of assessment and collecting and managing assessment data.  Participants will also submit a project to the workshop facilitators and then later in the course of the SALALM conference the workshop facilitators will give the participants feedback on their work.

PLEASE NOTE: Attendance is limited! Please reserve your spot by emailing Anne Barnhart: barnhartuwg@gmail.com

Important Details

• Date: Saturday 18th May, 9-12.30
• Location: At the SALALM hotel (Westin Colonnade Hotel, Coral Gables, Florida)
• Cost: Free!
• Pre-requisites: None! While this workshop will build on the work done in Trinidad, attendance at the 2012 preconference is not a prerequisite for participation.

Category SALALM Blog, SALALM Conference, SALALM Events, SALALM Speaks |

Sao Paulo Street Art Collection (@ googleartproject.com)

Worth a little time not just for the content, but for the idea of collecting and sharing in similar projects … h

Category SALALM Blog |

Latin America at the 2013 International Codex Artist Book Fair

When the first Codex Artist Book Fair opened in 2007 it was a bold move, probably questioned by those who saw the future of books in anything but the printed word, much less, those handmade, not matter how artistically crafted. Six years later, opening day for Codex IV experienced such a success that organizers ran out of tickets and had to improvise as the day progressed. An elderly couple wondered what was going on: “it’s a book fair, an artist book fair,” I added, on my way the exhibit hall. They were seen later that day browsing the aisles with almost 200 exhibitors from all over the world.

As in previous years, Europe had the largest contingent but Latin America was well represented with over 10 artists and exhibitors: Mexico alone had eight registered exhibitors. Several of the Latin American artist books are present in many SALALM libraries, like the works of Taller Ditoria from Guadalajara and Catherine Docter from Guatemala. Perhaps less familiar is the cultural production of several other book artists, all of whom have been admired by the more than 4,000 attendees at Codex IV.

Mexico’s varied presence is due in great part to the Codex Foundation’s efforts to reach beyond Western Europe and Anglophone speaking-areas. A recent cultural “encuentro” of California and Mexican book artists was held in several venues: Tequila and Guadalajara (Fall 2011) and Puebla (Summer 2012). That fruitful artistic dialogue has come North. It will soon travel East to our nation’s capital later this Spring at the Mexican Cultural Institute.

Latin America was also present with fellow SALALMista Steven Daiber from Red Trillium Press, who had recently returned from Cuba, also attending from the Caribbean was Consuelo Gotay. Germany’s Eckhard Froeschlin arrived via Matagalpa, Nicaragua. San Francisco’s Luis Delgado Qualtrough and Moving Parts Press augmented Latin America’s presence.

You can check Codex Mexico for more photos of both Codex 2013 and the previous exhibits in Mexico. There will also be updates on the upcoming Washington, DC show that opens in late March and will have a symposium on April 19-20.

See also blog posting from Codex III in 2011.

Adan Griego, Stanford University Libraries.

Tags: artist books, book fairs
Category SALALM Blog, SALALM Speaks |