Screens and networks: towards a new relationship with the written word (October 2001-March 2002) * A virtual symposium on the Web, at www.text-e.org * Organized by the BibliothËque publique d'information (BPI) Centre Pompidou, the Institut Jean Nicod (CNRS) and EURO-EDU * in association with GiantChair.com * Sponsored by UNESCO New Information and Communication Technologies (NICT) are transforming our world as radically as did the invention of the printing press. How will this affect the written word and its uses in society? There may be no immediate answers to these questions, but we can -and should- investigate the issues involved. In this context, the Bibliothque publique d'information (BPI), the Institut Jean Nicod (CNRS and EHESS), the non-profit organization EURO-EDU and GiantChair, have decided to set up a virtual symposium in French, Italian and English. Launched on October 15th, 2001, it will focus on the impact of NITC on our relationship with information and the written word. This international symposium should contribute to enriching current debates about the emergence of hybrid tools of communication (e-books, Internet and e-mail) and the social changes that accompany them. The contributors papers will be published directly on the symposiums host site, www.text-e.org and will be accessible from the BPIs main site (www.bpi.fr). It will involve theorists and other professionals affected by changes in their professional and personal lives brought about by e-mail and the Internet, and it will examine the impact of these technologies on reading, journalism, scholarship, libraries, archives, literature and so on. The symposium will provide participants with a forum for the discussion of all points of view. Through this program, we aim at once to engage in a collective research project, to enact the new relationship to the written word and to stage a public event using Web-based communication. The result will be published in book as well as in electronic format. PROGRAM The focal point of the project is the establishment of a Web-based event, beginning on October 15th, 2001 and ending in March 2002. Ten contributors, including theorists and those involved in new information technologies, will be invited to submit a paper for discussion. A new paper will be published on the site every two weeks. Each paper will be discussed on-line for the two weeks following its publication by some forty participants, comprising the ten contributors and thirty guests. Discussions will be chaired by the organizers. These papers, together with the ensuing discussions, will be made available to the public. Those wishing to follow the symposium will be able to register, receive the papers by e-mail and participate in a forum. Initial perspectives on the event will be debated at the Paris book fair, the Salon du livre, in March 2002. TOPICS AND SCHEDULE 15-31 October 2001 1. Readers and Reading in the Age of Electronic Texts (Roger Chartier, EHESS, Paris) 1-14 November 2001 2. What the Internet tells us about the Real Nature of the Book (Roberto Casati, Institut Jean Nicod, C.N.R.S., Paris) 15-30 November 2001 3. Skyreading/writing in the Post-Gutenbergian Galaxy (Stevan Harnad, Behavioral and Brain Sciences) 1-14 December 2001 4. Digital Journalism: Virtual Journalism? (Bruno Patino, Le Monde Interactif) 15-31 December 2001 5. Personal and Professional Conversation (Theodore Zeldin, Oxford) 1-14 January 2002 6. Reading: The Digital Future (Jason Epstein, Random House) 15-31 January 2002 7. Babel and the Vintage Selection: Libraries in the Digital Age (Bibliothque publique dinformation, Centre Pompidou) 1-14 February 2002 8. Reading without Writing (Dan Sperber, Institut Jean Nicod, C.N.R.S., Paris) 15-28 February 2002 9. The New Architecture of Information (Stephana Broadbent and Francesco Cara, IconMedialab, Paris) 1-14 March 2002 10. Authors and Authority (Umberto Eco, University of Bologna) 15 March 2002 Conclusions THE ORGANIZERS THE BIBLIOTHEQUE PUBLIQUE D¥INFORMATION (BPI - FRENCH PUBLIC INFORMATION LIBRARY) The Bibliothque publique dinformation is a major French publicic reference library, providing the general public with open access to virtually all of its holdings, whatever the type of media. In addition to Internet access, the library offers on-site consultation of books, newspapers and magazines, documentary films, records, language-learning methods and software programs covering all fields of knowledge. Holdings are constantly updated, and librarians are available to help readers locate material. The library organizes training on the use of NICTs, especially the Internet, as well as talks, screenings and exhibitions. www.bpi.fr E-mail address: bpi-info@bpi.fr Isabelle BASTIAN-DUPLEIXÝ Danielle CHATELÝ GÈrald GRUNBERG, Director Philippe GUILLERMEÝ THE BPIS SERVICE ETUDES ET RECHERCHES (STUDIES AND RESEARCH DEPARTMENT) The BPIs studies and research department carries out and/or steers sociological studies on books, reading and cultural practises. Extending beyond the immediate context of the BPI, the department plays a dual role of carrying out assessments and research. At the request of the Direction du Livre et de la Lecture (DLL), it initiates and monitors studies, offers expert services outside the BPI and conducts its own internal research on subjects of interest to both the BPI and other public libraries. It also acts as a publisher and heads the &lsquostudies and research collection of the BPIs publications. AgnËs CAMUS-VIGUE Christophe EVANS FranÁoise GAUDET THE INSTITUT JEAN NICOD The Institut Jean Nicod (CNRS) brings together researchers working on the relationship between the cognitive and the social sciences. The main areas of study include philosophy, linguistics, cognitive anthropology and political science. While philosophy is the leading discipline, the groups investigations go beyond pure theory, as the Institute also aims at reconciling conceptual thinking with an empirical approach. www.institutnicod.org Roberto CASATI Dan SPERBER EURO-EDU The recently created EURO-EDU (Association Europenne pour le Dveloppement de lEnseignement Suprieur et de la Recherche sur Internet - the European association for the development of higher education and research on the Internet), a non-profit organization, is devoted to studying the impact of NICTs on the development and transmission of knowledge. It aims at developing web tools, web workshops, discussion groups and research papers around the changes of educational systems and the diffusion of culture. www.euro-edu.com Gloria ORIGGI (Chair) Noga ARIKHA GIANTCHAIR, sponsor Screens, networks, the distribution of knowledge and the transformation of our relationship with the written word are all key issues for GiantChair, which specializes in helping publishing houses, libraries, universities and academic communities with the implementation of new methods of publishing and distribution. With a presence on both sides of the Atlantic, GiantChair is playing an active role in compiling a catalogue of digital publications from such publishers as the Paris-based Eyrolles, Arcade Publishing and Seven Stories Press in New York, and is already involved in the distribution of the first ebooks from these publishers. info@giantchair.com www.giantchair.com ChloÈ BENAROYA, partner. Pierre COHEN-TANUGI, Administrateur. Cory MCCLOUD, PrÈsident. Aalam WASSEFÝ, partner. MODERATORS Noga ARIKHA Noga Arikha has recently completed a doctorate at the Warburg Institute, London. She is a historian of ideas with an interest in the philosophy of mind, the cognitive sciences and the history of life sciences. She is also concerned with the establishment of dialogues between disciplines, between the academic and the public spheres, and between the sciences and the humanities. Gloria ORIGGI Gloria Origgi is researcher in philosophy at the University of Bologna, where she teaches philosophy and cognitive science. In 2000 she founded the EURO-EDU Association for developing Internet-based research projects. She is author of essays in philosophy of mind and epistemology. She is also in the faculty of the Graduate School in Information and Communication Technologies Almaweb, Bologna Italy. http://gloriaoriggi.free.fr _________________________________________________________ Nancy Baym nbaym@ku.edu http://www.ku.edu/home/nbaym Communication Studies, University of Kansas 102 Bailey, 1440 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045, USA VP, Association of Internet Researchers: http://aoir.org