Soberscove Press (Chicago, IL) is a publisher of books about art and culture. Soberscove was founded by Julia Klein in 2009 with a focus on making art historical materials accessible to a non-specialist audience; this concern continues in the books we publish today and has expanded to include cultural materials that fall outside of the realm of art history. Soberscove books tend to explore modes and functions of documentation, engage with process, and connect historical themes and issues to the present. We produce many of our books in collaboration with artists. Antenna Press has been a partner of the A.R.T. Library Program since 2014.

A.R.T. Library Program Questionnaire gathers insights from librarians and publishers within the Program's distribution network to reconsider and reflect on what it means to make art books public today.

• How do you characterize the books that you publish?

Soberscove grew out of a desire to make little-known art historical documents accessible to a non-specialist audience. While the focus has broadened beyond art history, the majority of our books continue to foreground documentary/archival materials that are readings of interest in and of themselves while also offering alternative approaches to familiar subjects and histories, illuminating process, and complicating the idea of major and minor. Soberscove books tend to engage with subjects that have not gotten due attention, have fallen out of memory or fashion, and/or are ripe for a new kind of engagement. Collaboration with artists is central to our work.

• How would you define the audience for your books?

People who are curious about art and culture and how artists think about their work. Definitely non-specialists, hopefully specialists too!

• How has the distribution of books changed in the last five years, and how does this impact what or how you publish?

The way books are distributed hasn’t changed significantly for Soberscove in the last 5 years and does not drive what or how we publish.

• When did you start participating in the A.R.T. Library Program?

2014.

• How do you decide what to donate to the program?

Initially, we sent copies of books that we had overprinted and copies of others that we felt we could spare. Over the years, Soberscove has continued to contribute here and there. Moving forward, we will be automatically contributing a percentage of each print run.

• How does the A.R.T. Library Program complement your distribution strategies?

Soberscove is grateful to the A.R.T. Library Program for helping to broaden the reach of our books by getting them into new and unexpected locations where new and unexpected readers have the opportunity to engage with them. Ultimately, we want our books to contribute to the development of more expansive cultural histories, so the more opportunity for chance in the distribution process, the better.