December 6, 2009

The Book Mechanic

A modern sensibility binds Terry Belanger to old, rare volumes

Tom Cogill for The Chronicle Review

Terry Belanger, founder of Rare Book School, argues that the rapid development of digital technologies is one reason we need to study old books.

By Andrew Witmer

Some years ago, Terry Belanger found a striking way to reveal the reverence that many citizens of the digital age continue to feel for old books. It is a sentiment he finds fascinating but only rarely appropriate or useful. Belanger, who retired in September as director of an educational institute called Rare Book School but who continues to teach there, brings an old volume to class, speaks about its binding and typography, and then, still discussing the book, rips it in half and tears it