Book presentation in Bologna by Douglas J. Osler

On Friday 19 March 2010 there took place in the library of San Giorgio in Poggiale at Bologna a presentation of the Jurisprudence of the Baroque: A Census of Seventeenth Century Italian Legal Imprints, published by Douglas J. Osler in the Max Planck Institute series Bibliographica Iuridica in 2009 (V. Klostermann, 3 vols.).The presentation was organised by the University of Bologna and the Centro Studi sul Rinascimento (Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Bologna) and was introduced by Prof. Gian Mario Anselmi, Director of the Centre.Speakers included (in addition to the author) Maria Gioia Tavoni (Univ. of Bologna), Rosaria Campioni (Director of the Istituto Beni Culturali Emilia-Romagna) and Angela de Benedictis (Univ. of Bologna). There were further interventions by Biancastella Antonino (Director of the Biblioteca Universitaria of Bologna) and Pierangelo Bellettini (Director of the Biblioteca Comunale dell'Archiginnasio). The discussion focused on strategies and methodology in an international context for the bibliographical description of the European printed book. The bibliographical "profile", a new method of distinguishing edition and issue developed for the Census, was the subject of lively debate. The breadth of legal sources included in the Census was seen as one of its main advantages. Using the example of books printed in Bologna, it was shown how the accompanying PDF version of the Census could be used to effect wide-ranging comparative research.