Holdings

An accordion book made of reddish-brown paper with library check-out slips and photographs.

Holdings opened to reveal library check-out slips and photographs in an accordion structure.

A kelly green book in a grey slipcase.

The grey slipcase enclosing Holdings.

In the context of libraries, the word holdings means materials owned by the library. The artist’s book Holdings, by Colette LaBouff, embodies the idea of holdings as the questions and needs a library can contain. LaBouff, who worked as a part-time reference librarian, writes, “The pieces in ‘Holdings’ began with my writing down patrons’ questions and phrases; I wrote these on small pieces of paper usually reserved for author names and call numbers. On my fifteen-minute breaks, I walked as far away from the library as possible and took pictures: images of my town filled with inhabitants wanting things to be different.” Designed and produced by Container, Holdings is presented as library check-out slips alongside color photographs, housed in an accordion-fold book with accompanying slipcase.

Colette LaBouff. Holdings. Baltimore: Container, 2019.

Holdings opened to reveal orange marbled endpapers, the colophon, and a photograph of a street sign.

Holdings opened to reveal orange marbled endpapers, the colophon, and a photograph of a street sign.

An interior page, with two check-out slips labeled "The Californian" and "Treasure (3)"

An interior page, with two check-out slips labeled "The Californian" and "Treasure (3)"

An interior page with check-out slips and a photograph of a woman looking at a cellphone.

An interior page with check-out slips and a photograph of a woman looking at a cellphone.

The check-out slips labeled "Part-time a the Library (2)" laid on top of an open page in the book.

Check-out slips labeled "Part-time at the Library (2)" laid on top of an open page in the book.

An interior page with one photograph of dark blue clouds and one photograph of handprints on a window.

An interior page with one photograph of dark blue clouds and one photograph of handprints on a window.