Steven ten Thije talks to Eva Olthof about the making of her book, for which he was involved as an advisor. Ten Thije is the project coordinator of the five-year European program ‘The Uses of Art – on the legacy of 1848 and 1989 (2013 – 2018)’ and is writing his PhD at the University of Hildesheim, Germany. Inspired by the question ‘Where is history made?’, Eva Olthof works on projects examining the testimonies and documents of certain events or locations. During a work period at Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, she studied the history of the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek (AGB). Founded in 1954, it was the first scientific public library in Germany built on the idea of an Anglo-Saxon public library, where different types of literature are made available to all strata of the population. A letter found in the AGB archives plays a pivotal role in the book. A man from the former East Germany borrowed two books just after the AGB opened, only to return them in 2000. He sent a letter in which he describes the events of the intervening period between borrowing and returning. The letter, a series of photographs in the library, and other texts form a book that questions the present condition of reading and the library as a place.
Return To Rightful Owner (published by Onomatopee) is for sale in the TENT Bookshop for €17.
Publisher: Onomatopee
Text: Eva Olthof, Doreen Mende
Photography: Eva Olthof
Design: Stefano Faoro
Advise: Steven ten Thije
Printer: Lecturis, Eindhoven
Edition: 1000