A Virtual Performance of “Rule N° 5”: Exploring the Library through Sound

This performance by Ashley R. Maynor and Amanda Belantara was part of the DH + BH: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Digital Humanities and Book History hosted by the Digital Cultural Studies Cooperative from September 22-24, 2022. 

In world where “library” and “book” have taken on vast new meanings, it's the last of Ranganathan's five "rules" of library science ("A library is a growing organism") that prompts us to continuously respond to changing environments and deeply interrogate the ways we curate, collect, organize, and preserve information for generations to come. Rule N° 5 is a new take on the artist’s book, an interactive experience that lives at the intersection of public humanities, critical librarianship, and installation art. This collaboration among library workers offers a sneak peek into the magical, mysterious, complicated, and controversial work happening inside a place–the library–users might not otherwise explore beyond its surface. Meticulously edited audio tracks draw upon over 50 interviews with library workers, dozens of archival recordings, and original music, including crowdsourced and curated voice and sound art submissions. Rule N° 5 sparks curiosity, wonder, and joy at the invisibility and vastness of library work but also engages listeners in difficult conversations about questions of labor, power, authority, and politics of seemingly innocuous labor, such as cataloging and information access.