The Ordinary Numinosity of the Book: A Framework for Understanding Affective Encounters in Book Exhibition Contexts
Abstract
The numen—drawn from religious and anthropological discourse—refers to a spiritual
or ineffable quality that certain objects or places seem to possess, commanding
responses of wonder, respect, or profound connection. In museums and library
exhibitions, books often sit behind glass, closed or partially open, their texts partly or
entirely inaccessible. Despite these constraints, expressions of wonder or delight before
a book are no less common than before a celebrated work of art, suggesting that
encounters with books can exceed the limits of access and legibility. Yet the study of
book exhibitions has long been framed around a perceived incompatibility between
the exhibition format and the book’s nature as a medium for reading
or ineffable quality that certain objects or places seem to possess, commanding
responses of wonder, respect, or profound connection. In museums and library
exhibitions, books often sit behind glass, closed or partially open, their texts partly or
entirely inaccessible. Despite these constraints, expressions of wonder or delight before
a book are no less common than before a celebrated work of art, suggesting that
encounters with books can exceed the limits of access and legibility. Yet the study of
book exhibitions has long been framed around a perceived incompatibility between
the exhibition format and the book’s nature as a medium for reading
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