“…the Indie Photobook Library is fast becoming one of Washington’s more interesting small collections.” – Mark Jenkins in the Washington Post Express

“Ahead of her time, Larissa’s farsighted vision will benefit future generations of photographers and scholars to come.” – Elizabeth Avedon, Independent Curator and Photobook Designer

ABOUT

Founded by Larissa Leclair in 2010, the Indie Photobook Library is an archive of self-published and indie published photobooks. This includes DIY, photobooks independently published and distributed, photography exhibition catalogs, print-on-demand photobooks, artist books, zines, photobooks printed on newsprint, limited edition photobooks, and non-English language photography books, etc. The iPL promotes and showcases the books in the collection through international pop-up and feature-length exhibitions, articles, conferences, guest lectures, and also preserves them as a non-circulating public library. Having a specific collection dedicated to this contemporary movement in publishing allows for the development of future discourse on trends in self-publishing, the ability to reflect on and compare books in the collection, and for scholarly research to be conducted years, decades, and centuries to come.

The Indie Photobook Library has traveled within the U.S., and to Canada, Guatemala, China, Mexico, Philippines, and Australia.

Larissa Leclair is an independent curator and internationally renowned expert on self-published photobooks. The seminal traveling exhibition “A Survey of Documentary Styles in early 21st century Photobooks” was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle and on TIME LightBox. Larissa Leclair has written for PDN, GUP, PQ, Photo-Eye, and VOP. She has served as a juror for the Blurb Photography Book Now competition, Magenta Foundation’s Flash Forward Festival, the 4th International Photobook Festival Photobook Award in Kassel, Germany, and the CPW Fellowship Fund 2013, among others. She has lectured at Yale, the School of Visual Arts, Georgetown University, the Corcoran College of Art & Design, MICA, the New York Art Book Fair, and the Cleveland Museum of Art, among others. Leclair was a Young Voices Fellow for The Next Conversation at the Center for Creative Photography in Tuscon, Arizona and received the Spotlight Award from the Griffin Museum in 2014 for her contribution to the field of photography. Leclair received a BFA in Photography and a BA in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis and her MA from Yale University.

Larissa Leclair is available for guest lectures and consults with museums and libraries on photobook acquisitions. Contact Larissa Leclair (contact@indiephotobooklibrary.org) for details.

The Indie Photobook Library featured on TIME LightBox.
The Indie Photobook Library featured on fototazo.

Interview with Larissa Leclair by Stacy (Oborn) Platt / Hey, Hot Shot!.
Interview with Larissa Leclair by Blake Andrews.
Interview on Lenscratch by Aline Smithson.

Griffin Museum / FOCUS Award video – Larissa Leclair receives the Spotlight Award 2014.Griffin Museum / FOCUS Award acceptance video.

Larissa Leclair listed in “101 Photo Industry Professionals you should Follow on Twitter” by featureshoot.com

Past pop-up exhibitions/events/lectures from the Indie Photobook Library collection:
Flash Forward Festival | Toronto, Canada | October 6-10, 2010
FotoWeek DC | Washington, DC | November 6-13, 2010
Philadelphia Photo Arts Center Book Fair (PPAC) | Philadelphia, PA | April 2, 2011
Photolucida | Portland, OR | April 14-17, 2011 | Titles selected by Melanie Flood and Shawn Records
Snap! Orlando | Orlando, FL | May 6-7, 2011 | Titles selected by E. Brady Robinson and Heather Comparetto
New York Photo Festival (NYPH) | New York, NY | May 12-15, 2011
Center’s Review Santa Fe | Santa Fe, NM | June 4-5, 2011
Conference Panelist – Furthering the Critical Dialogue | Printed Matter’s NY Art Book Fair | MoMA PS1 | September 30, 2011
Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP) Photobook Fair | Atlanta, GA | October 22, 2011
SPE Northeast | Syracuse, NY | November 3-5, 2011
Lishui Photography Festival | Lishui, CHINA | November 6-9, 2011
Guest Lecturer | Georgetown University | Washington, DC | January 2012
Guest Lecturer | The Maret School | Washington, DC | February 2012
Guest Lecturer | Syracuse University | Syracuse, NY | March 2012
Philadelphia Photo Arts Center (PPAC) Book Fair | Philadelphia, PA | May 5, 2012 | Crowd-sourced selection
Flash Forward Festival | Boston, MA | June 8-10, 2012
Peabody Essex Museum | Salem, MA | June 21, 2012
Juror, Photobooks | New York Photo Awards 2012
Juror, Photobooks | FotoWeekDC 2012
Panelist | “The Art of the Photobook” with Barbara Tannenbaum (Curator of Photography, Cleveland Museum of Art) and Ed Panar and Melissa Catanese (Spaces Corners) | Cleveland Museum of Art | Cleveland, OH | October 20, 2012, 2PM
PhotoNOLA at CAC | New Orleans, LA | November 30 – December 2, 2012 | Titles selected by Jan Gilbert (Interim Director of Visual Arts at the CAC), Russell Lord (Curator of Photographs at NOMA), and Larissa Leclair
Guest Lecturer | The Maret School | Washington, DC | January 18, 2013
Panelist | “Photography and the Book” with Elijah Gowin and Travis Shaffer. Moderated by April Watson (Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art | Art + Design Gallery at University of Kansas | Lawrence, Kansas | February 1, 2013
Guest Lecturer | MICA | Baltimore, MD | February 11, 2013
Guest Lecturer | Corcoran College of Art & Design | Washington, DC | February 22, 2013
Conveyor Arts, guest curated exhibits | Fall 2012 and by appointment in Winter 2012/2013
Guest Lecturer | VCU | Richmond, VA | March 28, 2013
Guest Lecturer | ASMP, Washington DC Chapter | NVCC | April 16, 2013
OPEN SHOW | Busboys and Poets | Washington, DC | April 18, 2013
PPAC Book Fair | Philadelphia, PA | May 18, 2013
Guest Lecturer | SVA | New York | June 5, 2013
Blonde Art Books Tour | Furthermore | Washington, DC | June 13, 2013
Guest Curator | 10×10 American Photobooks | Tokyo Institute of Photography | Chuo-ku, Tokyo | September 11 – October 6, 2013
“A Survey of Documentary Styles in Early 21st Century Photobooks” travels to Photoville | September 19-September 29, 2012 | Curated by Larissa Leclair and Darius Himes
The Indie Photobook Library presents “A Bookshelf by Empty Stretch” | FotoNoMA | Washington, DC | November 2 – 10, 2013
The Indie Photobook Library and Empty Stretch at Black Cat | Video Presentation | Washington, DC | November 2, 2013
Advisory Board |”Rock Your Dummy” | Le PhotobookFest | Paris, France | November 15 – 17, 2013
Photo-eye Best Books of 2013
TIME Lightbox, Notable book of 2013
Master Class, “The Contemporary Photobook” | Beinecke, Yale University | January 17, 2014
Young Voices Fellow, Larissa Leclair | The Next Conversation Conference | Center for Creative Photography | Tuscon, Arizona |  February 21-23, 2014
Guest Lecturer | Corcoran College of Art & Design | March 11, 2014
SPE National Conference | Baltimore, MD | March 6-9, 2014
PPAC Art Book Fair | Philadelphia, PA | March 29-30, 2014
Guest Lecturer | University of Virginia | April 1, 2014
Visual Studies Workshop Photo-Bookworks Symposium | Rochester, NY | June 26-28, 2014
Juror, IN-FOCUS | Norton Photography Gallery of Phoenix Art Museum exhibition | Phoenix, AZ | August 23 to September 28, 2014
APPA at RAYKO | San Francisco, CA | August 28, 2014
APPA at New York Zine Fair | Camera Club of New York and Foley Gallery | New York, NY | September 12-14, 2014
Finalist for Crusade for Art Engagement Grant 2014
iPL and APPA | Leica Store | Washington, DC | September, 20, 2014
Indie Photobook Library listed on Artists’ Books DC
iPL at Duke University | Raleigh/Durham, NC | October 9-10, 2014
Griffin Museum of Photography Spotlight Award for Larissa Leclair and the Indie Photobook Library | Boston, MA | October 24-25, 2014
Guest Lecturer | American University | Washington, DC | October 28, 2014
Juror | Critical Mass, PHOTOLUCIDA
Panelist | Indie Photobook Boom with Taj Forer, Michael Itkoff, Paul Soulellis | UNC | Chapel Hill, NC | October 30, 2014
The Daily Tar Heel | October 2014
Vox Magazine | October 2014
XII Encuentro de Fotografiìa 2014 (Master Class, Lecture, Exhibition) | Monterrey, MEXICO | November 25-28, 2014
Writer | The Photobook Review Aperture #7
Contributor | TIMELightbox | Best photobook of 2014 | Red String by Yoshikatsu Fujii
Writer | Voices of Photography Best books of 2014
Nominator | PDN 30 2015
Guest Lecturer | American University | Washington, DC | February 25, 2015
Guest Lecturer | Corcoran College of Art & Design with Andy Grundberg | March 18, 2015
Juror, Light Work Grants in Photography | Syracuse, NY
Colby College Museum of Art | Waterville, Maine | April 11, 2015
Philadelphia Photo Arts Center Book Fair | West Elm / iPL Reading Room | Philadelphia, PA | April 24-25, 2015
Centro de la Imagen Magazine, Mexico City, Mexico
Consultant | National Gallery of Art | Washington, DC | “Photobooks After Frank”
FOTOSEMANA MANILA | Manila, Philippines | May 18-25, 2015
Look3, Skype lecture with Ben Rasmussen’s workshop | Charlottesville, VA | June 10, 2015
Indie Photobook Library x APPA | Melbourne, AUSTRALIA | November 2014 – July 2015
Arlington County | October 17, 2015
TIME Best Photobooks of 2015: Alejandro Cartagena, Before the War; and Mariela Sancari, Moises
VOP Issue17：家族之間 Kins and Kinship | January 2016 | Mariela Sancari, Marcin Grabowiecki, Will Steacy, Yoshikatsu Fujii
Guest Lecturer | Corcoran College of Art & Design with Andy Grundberg | March 2, 2016
Guest Lecturer | George Mason University School of Art with Sue Wrbican and Don Russell | March 28, 2016
“The Photobook in Practice” exhibition | Look3 | Charlottesville, VA | June 17-19, 2016
fotobookfestival 2016, Mariela Sancari
Juror | Critical Mass | Fall 2016
Juror | INFOCUS Juried Exhibition of Photobooks | Phoenix, AZ | November 2016
Photobook Poll, Source Magazine, Belfast, Ireland, Winter 2016
Photo-Eye Booklist 2016
Leclair Residency with Fototazo, Summer 2017
Interviewed by Andrea L. Volpe for “Photography in Motion: Collecting Photobooks is a way of Collecting Change” in Fine Book & Collections Magazine, Autumn 2017
Juror | Critical Mass | Fall 2017
Guest Lecturer | FOLIO with Mariela Sancari at Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City, November 25, 2017
Master Class, CASA Oaxaca, November 27-28, 2017
Photo-Eye Booklist 2017
Portfolio Reviewer, WomenFocus, Newseum, April 7, 2018
iPL Collection Master Class | Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book Library | October 2018
Juror | Critical Mass | Fall 2018
Nominator | PDN 30 | 2018
Photo-Eye Booklist 2018
“Curiosity and Collecting” | Choose to Be Curious with Lynn Borton | Larissa Leclair interview about the iPL (21:00 minutes) | WERA 96.7 FM @RadioArlington | June 26, 2019
Juror | Critical Mass | Fall 2019
World Photobook Day | October 14, 2019
Panelist/Moderator | SPE Southeast Chapter Conference VCU, Richmond | Collections and Legacy: the life of your photobook after it is published/self-published | Larissa Leclair, Yuki Hibben, Stephanie Grimm | October 19, 2019
Nominator | PDN 30 | 2019
Photo-Eye Booklist 2019

Feature-length exhibitions from the Indie Photobook Library collection:
Photographic Resource Center | Boston, MA | September 13- November 12, 2011 | Curated by Larissa Leclair, George Slade, and Shane Lavalette
Corcoran Gallery 31 | Washington, DC | November 2 – 20, 2011 | Curated by Muriel Hasbun and Susan Sterner with Pablo Ortiz Monasterio
Gallery Carte Blanche | San Francisco, CA | “A Survey of Documentary Styles in Early 21st Century Photobooks” | September 14-October 22, 2012 | Curated by Larissa Leclair and Darius Himes
GuatePhoto Festival | Guatemala City, Guatemala | “Captured by a Portrait” | November 7-25, 2012 | Curated by Larissa Leclair and Leslie Ureña
FotoWeekDC | Washington, DC | “A Survey of Documentary Styles in Early 21st Century Photobooks” | November 9-18, 2012 | Curated by Larissa Leclair and Darius Himes
Contemporary Arts Center | New Orleans, LA | November 30, 2012 – January 20, 2013 | Titles selected by Jan Gilbert (Interim Director of Visual Arts at the CAC), Russell Lord (Curator of Photographs at NOMA), and Larissa Leclair
“A Fair” | featuring the iPL, LBM, and ABC | Art + Design Gallery at University of Kansas | Lawrence, Kansas | January 22 – February 15, 2013
“A Survey of Documentary Styles in Early 21st Century Photobooks” at Photoville | September 19-September 29, 2013 | Curated by Larissa Leclair and Darius Himes
“A Survey of Documentary Styles in Early 21st Century Photobooks” | Duke University Power Plant Gallery | Durham, NC | September 19-November 7, 2014
Exhibition, “Collections in Conversation: Photobooks at the Arts & Beinecke Libraries” Yale University, April 7-May 26, 2017

Founder: Larissa Leclair
Logo Designer: Clay Lipsky
iPL Ambassador: Nathalie Belayche
Intern alumni: Stephanie Obernesser, Emily Mason, Cameron Vaughan, Alexis Lodsun
Special thanks to Matthew Gamber, George Slade, Nick Turpin, Blurb, and Insomniac Design, and especially to everyone who has donated their books.

ADVISORY BOARD

Andy Adams, Editor / Publisher, Flak Photo
Darius Himes, Co-Founder of Radius Books; Head of Photography at Christie’s
Shane Lavalette, Photographer and Founder of Lay Flat (Lavalette); Director, LightWork
Gabrielle Reed, Massachusetts College of Art, Godine Library

SUBMISSIONS

The Indie Photobook Library has an open and ongoing submission policy. Photobooks can be donated by the artist, indie publisher, or private collector. All books become part of the permanent collection and are considered for yearly exhibitions. Visit our Submissions page for the iPL mailing address and required catalog record information.

QUESTIONS?

Send us an email at contact@indiephotobooklibrary.org

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