Photographed in the University of Missouri Miller Nichols Library, Kansas City, MO, USA.

For nearly two decades, I have photographed bound periodicals in public libraries. They aren’t touched, artificially lit, or manipulated. Bound by a librarian, found in the stacks, they are documented as left by the last reader. In libraries worldwide, these volumes are being deaccessioned, making them a rarity in the real world. In many cases there is no digital record of their content to replace the discarded volumes. As NFTs, the spines become mantras of particular moments in our history and take on new meaning as repositories for the future.

Mickey Smith is an award winning conceptual artist and photographer examining the social significance of libraries, books and archives. Her work is collected and exhibited internationally.