SFU Lecture: The Printing Room @ St. Michael’s College

We've received word from SFU of an upcoming lecture that will surely be of interest to print historians and bibliophiles alike! Jonathan Bengtson will be giving a presentation at SFU Burnaby campus on the the Printing Room at St. Michael’s College. Here is a PDF advertising the event, and below are all the details you need to know. To whet your appetite, I highly recommend that you download the background reading material from archive.org:

The Printing Room: The John M. Kelley Library. University of Toronto: 2009

Please RSVP for the event as requested below. We hope to see you there!

Friday, October 26, 2012
4:30pm to 6:00pm
Room 2020 - Thesis Defence Room
W.A.C. Bennett Library
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC

Jonathan Bengtson has served as University Librarian at the University of Victoria since January 2012. Prior to his appointment at Victoria, he served as director of library and archives at the University of St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto, as well as the library director for the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies (PIMS), one of the most important libraries for medievalists in North America.

He trained as a medievalist at Oxford and has been director of academic and special libraries in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Before arriving at the University of Toronto in 2004, Bengtson was head librarian of The Queen’s College, Oxford, and, afterwards, the executive director of the Providence Athenaeum in Providence, Rhode Island.

While at St. Michael’s, Bengtson played a key role in the establishment of the St. Michael’s Print Room. The Room features five hand-presses, including the 1895 Reliance press that is in the foyer of the library; it has binding equipment; an extensive collection of type, including ornaments from the Toronto firm of Cooper and Beatty, woodcuts and wood type; and pedagogical material, including unusual books as well as documents in Braille. The Room has played a critical role in supporting the teaching of book history and material bibliography. Bengtson’s lecture will speak to issues related to the creation of the Print Room and its impact on teaching and learning.


Refreshments following lecture.
Free Admission – limited seating - please reserve a seat by calling 778.782.6704 or emailing library at sfu.ca
For further information contact:
Chuck Eckman, Dean, Library Services
Tel: 778.782.3265