Artists’ books and regional representation in the British Library

How can a major cultural institution ensure that its collecting practices reflect the diversity of the publishing landscapes of the UK and Ireland? In 2022, I undertook a PhD placement at the British Library investigating regional representation in its Contemporary British and Irish artists’ books and fine press collections. This placement was funded by the Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Partnership, Arts & Humanities Research Council. This project examined the use of small publisher fairs across the UK and Ireland as an acquisition channel for works falling outside legal deposit. Here, I reflect upon my experience of using these small publisher fairs as data sources to analyse the diversity of this collection, building on a paper I presented at the ARLIS UK & Ireland Conference 2023 ( Generative Spaces: The Creative Powers of the Art Library ). Using the Small Publishers Fair, London, and Dublin Art Book Fair as case studies, this article examines the British Library’s engagement with these fairs and the opportunities they provide to improve the regional diversity of their artists’ books and fine press collections. My research was supervised by Jerry Jenkins and supported by curatorial staff in the Contemporary British and Irish department.