The Open Public Library, Graz 1991

Structure and Operation

The proposed outdoor library would be constructed in an urban area as a free-standing structure—a functionally designed bookshelf with glass doors.

• Operation: It would operate without librarians and guards, imposing no restrictions on its reading material.
• Content: The initial books would be collected from the inhabitants of the area where the library is placed.
• Change: As the library operates, its contents would gradually change, with books replaced or exchanged at the discretion of the users.

Social and Community Reflection

Such a library is designed to become an institution that helps define the community. It would reflect the community's:

• Reading habits
• Intellectual preoccupation
• Investment in its own institutions (serving as its portrait)

The necessity to institute norms for proper use will require a discussion of the community's values and goals. The invention and execution of non-violent sanctions against violations can become an exercise in metaphorical autonomous self-rule. Furthermore, determining the reading materials may result in new forms of communal decision-making applicable in other contexts.

The Sculpture and the Model

The displacement of an indoor object (a bookshelf) to the outdoors creates an "eerie" sculptural effect. However, the structure will seem familiar, aiming to be a part of the urban landscape rather than an intrusion.

This setup reflects the project’s utopian aspect: the library is not an authoritarian implant but an integral part of the community readily modified by it.

The Counterpart Model

A photographic full-scale model of the outdoor library will be installed indoors (in a public exhibition space at Graz).

• Function: This model serves as a point of reference and the indoor exhibition functions as a documentation center for evaluating the overall project effect.
• Relation: The relation of the 'model' to the 'outdoor library' is similar to the relation of the 'outdoor library' to an invisible 'model of a social interaction'.
• Ultimate Subject: The project ultimately addresses community relations and formation as its subject, rather than the "service" of providing a library.

Defined Trajectories

The Open Library is thus defined by two trajectories:

1. The "social sculpture": Initializing a process that engages and demonstrates the community’s relation to itself and its definition vis-a-vis the outside.
2. The idea of modeling: The work as a cube within a cube, each one modeling the other. This point also marks the return of the Open Library to the 'closed' space, addressing the transformation of the 'real' to an 'art-like representation'.

Construction and Pre-Installation

The library will measure approximately 4.5' x 3.5' x 6'' and will have a cement foundation. The construction will be made of wood, with the open side protected by two glass doors.

Prior to installation, a public presentation is proposed for a public space at Graz, featuring photographic/textual material and notebooks for public comments, followed by a public discussion.

Implementation Steps:

1. Book Collection Drive: A few months prior to opening, a drive to collect books will begin, advertised through posters, local newspapers, etc.
2. Minimal Intervention Sign: A small metal plaque will be placed on the side reading: “You can take a limited number of books for a limited amount of time, for further information contact.” This "authoritarian" sign serves two necessary functions:
   • To define the object as a lending library.
   • To provide an index or point of orientation for users.

Documentation and Installation

An installation in the Grazer Kunstverein documented the entire process and served as an information center.

• The installation consisted of three groups of objects.
• Each group contained a landscape, a table, and a free-standing 'library' model.
• The free-standing model was a tall box featuring two photographs of libraries mounted on two sides, which displayed the initial collection of books and featured a built-in card file.

The Open Outdoor Library, Graz, recontextualized 1993/2005

This project was exhibited in 2005 in 'Social Sculptures, Community Portraits and spontaneous Operas 1990-2005' at Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna as well as in 1993 as 'Die offene Bibliothek Graz, recontextualized', at the Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum, Graz.

The "Open Outdoor Library, Graz, recontextualized" installation represented the original "Open Public Library, Graz," project from 1991.

• Execution: Three wooden bookcases were built and placed outdoors in different suburbs of Graz.
• Function: The bookcases operated as lending libraries for a period of three months.
• Rules: A notice on each instructed users that they could borrow or exchange any book for a limited amount of time.
• Collection: The books were collected from local residents.
• Film: A film documenting the reaction of the local residents in each of the three location of the library was produced in collaboration with Stephan Dillemuth. The film was shown on two display monitors.