Shelf Life

Print helped fuel the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, which in turn fueled major developments in the printing industry. As people were exhorted to read the Bible, new tools emerged to help them navigate its pages: page numbers, indexes, annotations--basically, all the features of the "apparatus of the book" that we take for granted today. We speak with Newberry President David Spadafora and curator of printing history Jill Gage about the reciprocal relationship between religion and print in the early modern era. (Intro music: "Two Types of Awakenings" by Nheap)