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Books and Bites Showcase: Home

Resources related to the biannual Books and Bites Event at MIT Libraries

Introduction

A collection of books on Islamic art, culture, and history are displayed on a wooden table indoors. The image shows a high-angle, close-up view of numerous books arranged on a light brown wooden table. The books are predominantly about Islamic art, history, and culture.Welcome! This guide was developed to assist you with the discovery of materials, navigating information, and to enrich the experience when viewing material at current and past Books and Bites events.

In this guide, you'll find information about titles, artworks, artists' books, archival materials, and more featured in past Books and Bites showcases. It is updated regularly. You can use the menu to the left to explore the collection items featured in different events by year and semester. We hope to see you in-person at our next event! 

 

 

Photo credit: Rami Alafandi

Origin Story

In Spring 2020, MIT's Architecture and Planning Librarian Kai Alexis Smith collaborated with the Aga Khan Documentation Center (AKDC) staff to launch the first Books and Bites showcase at Rotch Library, creating a new venue to display materials and to provide a space where the community could engage with them. This was an experience that couldn't be accommodated in existing exhibit spaces.

Faculty, staff, and students engaging with artists’ books, and rarebooks at Books and Bites’s spring 2024 event in the reading room at Rotch Library.Initially, Books and Bites showcased ephemera, artists' books, zines, and new acquisitions in art, architecture, and planning. Following a pandemic-related pause, the program returned to campus with an expanded scope, featuring interdisciplinary themes and titles, and materials from the Department of Distinctive Collections, including institute archives and rare books, to engage MIT's diverse communities.

Photo Credit: Kai Alexis Smith