The Center for the Book and theHistory of the Book

摘要

In the three decades and more since its creation, the Center for theBook has benefited immensely from John Cole's leadership in execut-ing its broad public mandate. During these same decades the historyof the book has become firmly established as a significant field of study,yielding an abundance of innovative scholarship.~1 The development ofthe Center not only coincided but also intertwined with the emergenceof book history as a field, especially from 1977 to 1980, years that werefoundational for both. What has not been sufficiently recognized isthe important role Cole and the Center have played in nurturing bookhistory in the United States and indeed internationally.