The Artist’s Book in Library and Museum Practice: The Challenges of Definition

Abstract

The article addresses the problem of defining the artist’s book within library and museum practice. The question of what should be considered an artist’s book has remained contested since the 1970s and is particularly complex in the Russian context, where a single term encompasses both the livre d’artiste and the artist’s book—phenomena of very different nature—while the local tradition is rooted in Futurist books and Soviet samizdat. This raises several methodological questions: where the boundaries of the book as a concept lie, how the status of art is determined, and what role the artist plays in relation to the author of the text. The article examines the current challenges faced by professionals working with artist’s books, which were also the subject of discussion at the international conference on artist’s books held in Moscow in the summer of 2025. The work not only provides an overview of the main conceptual approaches and directions of the debate but also proposes a framework for comparing them that helps to resolve contradictions and identify points of convergence. Methodologically, the study draws on an analysis of both international and Russian theoretical sources and on a comparison of the practices of two institutions with different approaches—the Library for Foreign Literature and the Garage Museum Library. As a result, the article formulates a comprehensive definition of the artist’s book that considers both the specificity of cultural tradition and the contemporary needs of professional practice. The findings can be applied to cataloguing, description, and collection development in libraries and museums.