The topic of artists' books and artists' publications can be a contentious dialogue. If one were to ask a room filled with artists, collectors, scholars, critics and members of the public to define the medium, the dialogue would quickly turn into a debate. Many would define "artists' publications" in the context of early 20th century European "livre deluxe" books-those finely produced, limited edition, precious volumes produced by Picasso, Matisse and other decidedly European modern masters.

  Others would describe "artists' books" as unique or limited edition craft-objects that formally resemble books, but perhaps are truly sculptural objects. While another party would define the medium as the intersection between fine arts and literature-in either limited or short-run editions-such as the collaborations between Max Ernst and Paul Eluard. Finally, members of the public might also consider monographs as artists' books or artists' publications.

  The APDLA's founders refined the definition of an artists' book as an "artwork for the page" focusing on those publications produced in large editions of 100 copies or more. The utopian ideal, and mandate, of this refined focus was that the artists' book medium was one where artists could craft democratizing artworks-inexpensive artworks-that could be consumed alongside a more traditional output of paintings, drawings, sculptures or photography. Indeed, these publications were not simply catalogues of pre-existing artworks, collections of plates of studio-work images, but rather "narratives" intended to be seen in a printed, bound and widely disseminated format.

  Several artists’ books’ artists had championed the medium by prolifically producing artists' books in lieu of exhibition catalogues with the hopes of finding literally thousands of venues for his art-be it a coffee table, a museum library, a collector's bookshelf or a student's backpack. There was a clear democratic glee in the notion that these volumes could be carelessly discarded, or cast-off, in the same fashion a pulp paperback could be passed among friends.

  Throughout the last thirty years, artists have expanded the artist book by pushing the boundaries of ancillary forms-vinyl records, audio tapes, video tapes, audio CDs, CD-ROMs, multiples-and pushing their hand into the more traditional realm of exhibition catalogues and monographs. These artists' publications provide a broader foundation for artists to find an audience and disseminate their work. As an organization dedicated to expanding and continuously redefining the "artist book," The APDLA carries an extensive range of these new media publications, which are selected and sold on the same basis as traditional artists' books.