Cuba Pt 2 - La Habana Vieja

Walking the streets of Old Havana, you feel like you have just walked into the past. There is a sort of timeless quality to it. Like you have stumbled upon an old European city that has fallen asleep. The buildings are covered with generations of dust and though the buildings are strong, they show the wear of many years. The once biright colors seem slightly faded. The streets are narrow and uneven. Your feet fall hard on the cobbled stones. Ancient cannons mark the boundaries of the old city and block cars, motorbikes, and bicycles from entering.The breeze is cool but the air is thick.

The buildings may look like they have been sleeping for a hundred years, but the streets are filled with life. From dawn until late into the night the streets are filled with people talking, laughing, and singing. Vendors sell baked goods like fried coconut balls smothered in caramelized sugar. They yell out "Cooooooooco!" and crowds of people swarm to get a taste. Street dogs appear at your feet as if from no where. These pups seem indifferent to both people and each other. They do not beg or bite but merely look up at you with heartbreaking eyes and all you want is to cuddle them. That is until you look closely and see just how dirty they are.

Every morning there is a book market in the Plaza de Armas. The square is packed with tables and shelves of old books and trinkets. Antique camera, military pins, and old coins cover the tables in front of the book shelves. Picture frames feature pre-revolution currency which, as is pointed out by many people, looks surprisingly like the United States currency. The towers of books are filled with histories and biographies of Fidel Castro, Jose Marti, and overwhelmingly, Che Guevara. Occasionally, you can find a book in English like the Constitution of Cuba. The square is wide and fresh air flows in from the Canal de Entrada which lies just beyond a row of buildings. Between the breeze and the shade provided by tall trees in the center of the square, it is easy to peruse the book market for hours and never grow tired.

La Habana Vieja is packed with tiny museums that document much of the history of the city, old automobiles, and military weapons. There are even museums for spices, perfume, and chocolate. There is a museum that features a lighted model of the city with a docent who tells you different facts about the city. In the lobby of this particular museum there are stacks and stacks of old Cuban movie posters from the 1960's. An hour could easily be spent devouring the visual delights from these posters. Graphic designers, feel free to swoon. There are no signs or advertisements for any of these places. They are quite literally, hole-in-the-wall joints. Walking down the street you might see an open door that leads to an art gallery or exhibit. If you aren't one to go poking around, you might never see the wonders that hide in the city.

Between the museums, art galleries, and tourist shops, there are the cafes. Small and unassuming, these place give you the opportunity to really be able to take everything in. The food is simple and delicious. The beer sucks but you don't even care because nothing feels better than going to a cafe for lunch, getting a ham and cheese sandwich, and sipping a Bucanero while you watch people saunter by. Isn't that how you really experience a city? When you just sit and watch? There are caricature artists that come by and for a CUC or two will draw you. Be prepared to be portrayed about fifteen years older than you really are.

Bands of musicians play softly while you eat and its only then that you realize the music you have been hearing, the music that fills the streets, that follows your footsteps is live and coming from these artists. They wander from cafe to cafe, bar to bar playing music and singing songs so beautiful you can't help but stop to listen. The songs they sing seem to be known by everyone around you. Old men hum the tune to themselves while women begin singing along. The women sing as beautifully as the musicians. Young men move to the beat and gently beat the rhythm on their chests and you wonder if the music matches the beating of their hearts.

The Malecon is a stretch of road that runs along the sea into Havana Port. Across the canal you can see la Cabana, the old fort. Back in the old days, soldiers would fire a cannon at 9 pm every night to signal to the people of Havana to extinguish their lights to protect the city from pirate attacks. This ceremony still exists today. Along the Malecon there are hundreds of old Chevrolet cars from the 1950's. Its shocking to see so many American cars, many seemingly in mint condition, lined up to take tourists for a ride. As the sun sets in the west, the clouds and the water are painted in pinks and purples. You stand leaning against the wall, watching the water, and feel the cool ocean breeze on your cheeks.

La Habana Vieja is beautiful and stunning. You are greeted with such sights and sounds, smells and tastes to convince you that you are some place magical and you truly are. But beyond the cannons and the cobblestones and the tourist glam lies a very different Havana...

Cuba Pt. 1 "Why is everyone clapping?"

Every once in a while you are presented with an opportunity you just can't pass up. No matter how busy your life seems to be, you make time for it. This was one of those opportunities.

Its illegal to go there. Talking to people in my parents generation, it feels illegal to even talk about it. Never have I ever experienced a national taboo quite like this. The more I talked about it the more ignorant I felt. I am not a dedicated student of history or politics and it showed in my face anytime someone tried to talk to me about communism, capitalism, the missile crisis or Fidel. My personal experience consisted of I love Lucy and a sandwich.

Everyone had so many questions for me and I felt like such a ham not having any answers for them. Some people were excited for me and told me in hushed voices how they have wanted to go there their whole lives. Some people were outright shocked and disapproving. They told me horror stories of when they were kids hiding under desks waiting for Castro to drop the bomb on them. In some ways I wondered if it was really fair of me to go when so many other people knew so much more than myself. Fuck it. I'm going, I thought. This would probably be the only time I would ever be able to do something like this anyway.

Preparation for travel to Cuba was a bit of a mixed bag. I was infused with excitement, anticipation, and plain old fear. I sat in meetings where one minute we would talk about the project we were working on, the people we would be working with and then suddenly we were talking the logistics of being singled out at the airport. We were warned that absolutely one of us would be stopped and heavily questioned. Don't wear bright colors, don't smile too much, don't frown too much, be aware of your surroundings, don't look suspicious, don't tell them this, absolutely don't tell them that. The anxiety of the intimidation game was building in my tiny little body and I thought I might actually explode from the pressure. After 45 minute sessions of Do's and Don'ts we were reassured that it would all work out fine and soon we would have a Bucanero in our hands. What is a Bucanero?

I woke at 3am and was ready to roll out the door at 4am. For days before my body had been positively humming from the excitement. I could actually feel the vibration of my veins and arteries and hear my heart in my ears. Somehow I managed to sleep on the hour long van ride to the airport. When we arrived we checked in for our domestic connection, weighed our precious cargo, and left our bags with the airline. It had been ages since I had checked baggage and as I walked away from my bag with all my clothes and the parts of the project we had already worked so hard on I suddenly felt very naked and exposed. Ok, this just got real, I thought. 

The plane to Miami was positively freezing and I woke up shivering. Through my bleary eyes I looked out the plane's window to see the most spectacular sunrise. The clouds below gave off a texture of freshly clotted cream and the pinks, purples, and oranges of the sunrise almost brought tears to my eyes. I stared at the sight for several minutes wondering if it was a sign that everything was going to work out just fine.

Another 45 minutes and we walked off the freezing cold plane into the freezing cold meat locker that is Miami International Airport. The line to check-in for the chartered flights nothing short of chaos. There are no signs telling you which flight is which. You could easily spend an hour standing in the wrong line and be none the wiser. Everyone has carts and carts of luggage wrapped in green clingwrap. Families carting TV's, lamps, and crutches are scattered everywhere in no particular order. An old woman came to me to ask me in Spanish if this was the line she needed. I could only smile and say No espanol. Now I wish I had taken Spanish instead of the two other languages I took in high school and college. Somehow our group managed to get to the counter and checked in. Our bags were weighed and checked again. There was a brief awkward moment when we all had to tell the airline representative our individual weights. No secrets now.

The terminal for Cuba flights is the most dismal terminal I have ever been in. Its like a graveyard of forgotten restaurant chains. The Starbucks, Pizza Hut, and Nathan's Hot Dog stand area all empty, cold, and covered with dust. There is no book shop, just a lone cafe serving empenadas and fried plantains.

Waiting is always the worst part of any large endeavor. I can handle any stressful situation when its actually happening, but when forced to wait I imagine the worse of all possible outcomes. What if this happens, or that, or Oh God, what about THIS?!? When I was a kid, I used to believe that I would die before big events happened because I just couldn't fathom how it would be. This seems to be a consistent theme in my life. Please refer to my thesis (once its finished). So just sitting in that empty terminal for hours upon hours waiting was like torture.

Finally, we got on the plane. Wedged lovingly between two good friends, I sat in the middle seat, bouncing with anticipation. I watched as Miami grew smaller and smaller and soon I saw nothing but ocean. The flight was the shortest and longest of my life. I watched the island grow bigger and bigger in the distance. We flew over beaches and fields. After a lifetime of waiting the plane landed on the tarmac. Suddenly, the plane erupted in a sea of cheers and clapping. Why is everyone clapping? My friends and I seemed to be the only ones not celebrating our safe arrival. We all joined the chorus though we weren't sure why.

The "Worst of" List

2011 was a banner year for lil ole me, punctuated by extreme highs and lows. I tend to love/loath "Best of" year end lists but they always provoke me to think about what my "Best of" and "Worst of" lists would be. If one were to use my entire life as the platform, both lists would consist of a disproportionate number of events representing this past year. 


The "Worst of" list would include such events as the death of a dear close friend of literally my entire life. More uncle than friend, he played a larger part in my life than some family members. I grew along side his children and his death was truly a waste. Shortly after this, by a matter of days, was the abrupt ending to a profound relationship. The worst part of losing the lover is losing the friend too. Then, just when I thought I could not handle anymore heartache and grief, an F4 tornado ripped through my town. 


Recently, after another yet-to-be-mentioned 2011 "worst" arose, a good friend joined the chorus of loved ones chiming "Oh honey, you have had the worst year." In many way, yes, I have had a shit year. Looking back, it is hard for me to articulate exactly all that has happened and how it has changed me. Good friends and loved ones tell me that they wish "this" or "that" hadn't happened to me last year, specifically in regards to the break-up and the tornado. I am a dreamer, to be sure, but I am not one to dream the past were different. You can't change the past so why dwell on wishing it were different. You are the experiences you have had and the ways you move on from them. 


It would be easy for me to say that I wish those terrible things had not happened. But that would be a lie. For the last few years I have suffered from some manner of anxiety induced sleep disorder (self-diagnosed by yours truly, Dr. Smarty McSmartspants). I attributed this to anxiety regarding my school work; two programs at once is the dumbest idea I have ever had. I would lay awake in bed, damp from the humidity, unable to get my mind to be still while the Boy slept soundly next to me. I would have droughts of dreamlessness coupled with hypnagogic hallucinations of a man in black staring down on me. The anxiety would have peaks and valleys but it was always there. After the Boy moved out I would have wild nights of sleeplessness coupled with days where I could not open my eyes from the intense sleep I had fallen into. Sleep was the only place I could go where the constant reminder of my former life was not torturing me from around every corner.


After a few weeks I was able to drag myself out of the heavy and protective haze of sleep during the day so that I would not ruin all the hard work I had done in school. And for the first time in two and a half years I was able to fall asleep and stay asleep at night. It was not every night nor was there a consistent pattern but it happened. It was possible I could sleep like normal. I still do not sleep well as most people do. I still lay awake listening to the train whistle in the middle of the night. I still wake to see the blinking of the clock at some ungodly hour. I still struggle to rouse myself in the morning. But it is significantly better than before.


They say that Hindsight is 20/20. I happen to know this is factually true. I was shocked and utterly shattered when the relationship ended. But looking back now I see many things I did not before when I was blinded by love. Anxiety is often exacerbated by many factors. My worries about school were not the only things keeping me up at night, I just could not see it. Somehow, my body knew something was wrong, but my brain refused to recognize it for what it was.


When the tornado blew into town I was still very wounded and broken. When the destruction hit, I was sitting in the basement of the library. The lights had gone out and there was no light in the room save a single bulb across the room behind many shelves. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I could see the faintest light bouncing off the shelves. In that moment, the subtle lines of the shelves reminded me of catacombs. I have tried over and over to articulate the terror and serenity I felt seeing those shelves and I am never able to do it. I suppose no one except those who were there could possibly even understand. Maybe not even them. At the risk of sounding cliche, it was a moment of clarity and closure for me. I emerged from the library knowing my world would never be the same.


In the days that followed I experienced the most life affirming displays of human compassion and solidarity. I, with countless others, helped people claim what they could of their homes and livelihoods. I opened my home to those who needed it and was able to provide them with simple comforts like food, beer, and laughter. I grew closer to my friends here and the community here more than I ever possibly could have without the tornado.


I cannot wish these things did not happen to me nor would I want to. If the relationship had ended sooner than it did, I may never have come here or followed through with my education. If it had ended any later, I would have been living a lie. Mistakes were made on both sides and while some may hate him, I cannot. It may have broken my heart but it was what needed to happen. If the terrible events of April 27th had not happened, I may not have realized that it was truly over. I may never have realized that I could move on. I also would not have seen the greatness that can come from tragedy and the resilience of spirit.


Last year was a hard year but I honestly can't claim it was the "worst." Worst implies there is no value to be drawn. It was the hardest year of my life, to date, but I am grateful for the "worsts." It is because of them I am able to appreciate my "bests."

Mastering the Art of Being a Novice

Shit-Hot-Damn. Its 2012. As predicted last semester was so chock full of craziness that I managed to not post a single thing. And here I am, about to embark on the final semester, perhaps of my life, as a student. I cannot express how truly exciting and terrifying that is.

A lot of kids do nothing but complain about school and how they can't wait to get out. I did my fair share of bitching and moaning too but as I got closer to the end of my college days, I realized that I didn't want school to be over. For the semester, sure. But for good? Never in my life had I ever thought I would go to graduate school but shortly after graduation I knew I wasn't done. And now here I am again, staring down the barrel of graduation and not wanting it all to end.

I recently attended a conference where I assisted the moderation of a graduate student round table discussion of "Why Book Arts Now?" Aside from the awesome discussion which I'll talk about in a later post, I was surprised how many students were shocked that my program is three years. "I couldn't imagine being in a three-year program," one student said to me. In all honesty, I feel like three years is not enough. Can you really "master" an art, a craft or any discipline in a mere three years? Two? One even? In a little more than four months I will be able to claim that I am a Master of the Book Arts and a Master of Library and Information Studies. I won't be. I am but a novice.

But isn't that half the fun of being in a bigger world than yourself? I have never been the best student, but those who know me best know that learning and education is a big deal for me. I am constantly wanting to learn new things, read new things, see new things. Isn't that why we are here? To check out the wondrous variety that is out there and decide for yourself what is beautiful and fulfilling? In my lifetime I would like to become a "master" of the following:

The Culinary Arts
Photography
Rock Climbing
Deck of Cards Shuffler
Ambidexterity
Creative Writing
Creating new words that people think are real
Drawing
Building a house that will be my Home
International Travel
Magic
Pianistry
Spanish, French and Italian (in that order)
Swimming
Reading
Identifying living organisms by sight (plants, birds, puppies, etc)
Adobe Creative Suite
Performing basic math operations in my head (multiplication, addition, counting, etc)
Wit

Can I possibly master any of these feats in my lifetime? I doubt it. But I'll sure try.

Fall semester of my final year of grad school has begun and I am in for the craziest, busiest, most stressful, physically exhausting, pushing the limit semester of my life. I'm excited and freaked out, pumped and fatigued, confident and weak as a kitten. Currently on my plate:

a) Two classes: Archives and Boxmaking. The trouble with doing two programs at once, especially when one is purely creative and the other is purely theoretical, is that your brain is constantly being pulled in two different directions. Working with your hands and seeing the world in words and images uses a completely different part of your intellect than writing papers, reading text books and sorting out the complexities of organizing data. The human brain is capable of sorting these differences out, but doing so simultaneously can force the brain to a complete shut down requiring massive amounts of bed rest aided by any of the following: chick flicks, action movies, or anything written by Ben Affleck and anything starring Casey Affleck.

2) I am now the Editor of the South East Guild of Bookworkers Newsletter

c) Internship: I am interning at the special collections library at the university working with the rare books curator specifically to get an understanding of how book arts and artists books are viewed from the library side. Already I'm in the process of creating a LibGuide for the Book Arts collection. This guide will have general information regarding book arts, related web links, and a description of the kinds of books within the collection. The goal of this guide is to be used by students in the MFA program. I am also assisting the cataloging department to create a current list of RBMS (Rare Books and Manuscript Section) terms for each book in the collection and making a comprehensive list of examples for these terms. The hope is that this list will inform the librarians on what areas the collection is missing teaching examples.

4) a new job.

e) Oh yeah, that pesky little THESIS looming over my head. To date, I've not yet written it. But that is not to say that I haven't been working on it. I have been making paper like a mad woman and currently have some 600 sheets of freshly made white cotton paper just itching to get some well placed ink all over them. I also just got a CD full of images that I will be finding a way to use. Once I get this paper out from under me I'll get cracking on it.

6) Damn. I forgot about that paper.

g) On top of all of the a fore-mentioned craziness there is another amazing opportunity which might require much of my time and efforts this semester. The book arts department often collaborates with printmakers in Havana, Cuba. Book arts students make the paper and print the text then in the spring go to Havana to work with the artists on imagery and book structure to create a beautifully crafted artists' books. There is a possibility that we might engage in a collaboration this year. This means that I will most likely have to print another book before Christmas.

I'm exhausted just looking at this list. If only I could sleep...

British Library Conservation Lab

y experience working with different kinds of paper and my training as a bookbinder made the visit to the British Library Conservation Lab very exciting.  I am always eager to see how different book studios are set up, the different kinds of equipment people use and more than anything to meet the people who work so intimately with books as I do.

The conservation lab lives in a separate building from the rest of the library. There are five teams of conservators and the entire sixth floor is devoted to working with and conserving paper items such as maps, wall hangings, miniatures and archives.

The majority of the work done here is on books. But there is also work being done on items such as stamps and photographs. Some examples of work that has been conserved include a collection of first edition Beatrix Potter bindings and Codex Formaticus which was broken into pieces.

Any item that is conserved has an extremely detailed conservation record where the conservators describe EVERY action taken with the item including an inventory of materials used such as adhesives and papers.

One of the conservators was working on conserving a 17th century palm leaf book with a 14th century text inscribed on the leaves. There are 253 leaves in total and each leaf bound together by a thread that goes through the middle of the leaf. Many of the leaves have been damaged and pieces of the leaf have been broken off. These leaves are difficult to work with because traditional adhesives don’t work. The leaves have been treated with oil and this makes the adhesives ineffective. Since the edges of the leaves cannot be repaired in a traditional manner, the conservator employed a piece of equipment called a leaf caster. I wasn’t able to see this machine but it sounds very interesting. Essentially, a mold of the leaves is made; a paper pulp is made and then pressed through the mold onto the leaf, filling in the missing spaces.

One of the conservators gave a demonstration on gold tooling. Having done golf tooling once before, I was fascinated to see it done again. First, the leather is polished using a warm metal tool; this smooths out the surface of the leather, leaving a polished surface for the gold to be impressed into. Then a mild adhesive consisting of egg white and water is put in the leather followed by a thin layer of Vaseline which makes the gold stick to the spine. Using a thread, the conservator made a small line to make sure the line of text would be straight. Then using a hot tool, the gold is impressed into the spine. Only where the hot tool has touched will there be any gold. It is a very delicate process. The conservator said he had apprenticed doing this kind of work for five years before he started his career. Very impressive.

The kind of work being done in the labs is so fascinating to me and I am so grateful for having the opportunity to see these dedicated people at play.

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

Middle Temple Library

ittle do we know, but Middle Temple has a deep relationship with our young little nation. Middle Temple taught several of the brilliant minds who decided one day to write this silly document called the Declaration of Independence. As a result of this special relationship, Middle Temple Library has an American Law collection. It was built after WWII and one of the largest collections on law in the United States. There is an interesting collection relating to the issues of capital punishment which was donated by an individual who was opposed to the death penalty. The collections are used by English practitioners, commercial lawyers and researchers. Among the publications the library collects are the Harvard Law Review and Notre Dame Law Journal.

The library was founded by Robert Ashley when he donated his own personal library. This collection consisted of 4,000 items including 80 volumes from John Donne’s personal library.

The building where the library is located was built in the 1950’s after the war. The architect was so paranoid about the building getting bombed that it was constructed using reinforced concrete. Over the last few years, some of the rooms have been converted to make space for meeting facilities. The librarian I spoke with expressed his opinion that this is a positive move for the library as it will bring more people in the doors and spread awareness of the library. Some of his colleagues disagree however.

Materials from the library include journals, reference books, trials and ecclesiastical law from the US, EU, Scotland and Ireland. You finicky librarians out there are going to cringe about this little fact nugget but there is no classification scheme. Not to worry though, the librarians seem to manage the collections just fine using alphabetic organization. There are no subject areas so there is no confusion. All editions of text books are kept so that precedent could be traced.

 Noteworthy honorary members of Middle Temple include Charles Dickens, Sir Walter Raleigh, and the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William.

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

Maughan Library, King's College

ing’s College began in 1829 as a godly institution. To this day there is still a very strong theology department at King’s. Among its many campuses, the Strand campus of King’s college is the only non-health related campus.

The building the library lives now used to be the Public Record Office. Due to restrictions on historical buildings and sites, there are two rooms in the library which must remain as they were when the building was the Public Record Office, including the slate shelving. This brings up an interesting situation the librarians have had to work around. It is important to maintain historical sites, but for the library this means working around these unusable spaces. Also, the land that this building is on is legally royal property, but is leased out to the City of London. There are detailed maps posted on all the stacks in the library because due to the historical site restrictions, nothing can be posted on the walls in the building.

There are 11,000 students and 1,000 visitors at the Strand campus. The library contains three-quarters of a million items. The library has gone to great lengths since moving into its current building to make the library an efficient useful space for patrons. There are 300 computers available and wireless internet throughout the building. Social spaces and group study spaces have been created. The library also has a self service for students to use. There is a Round Room, similar to the Round Room at the British Museum. This room is for reference and silent study only.

Materials in the library range from such topics as humanities, law, and natural sciences. Different kinds of materials have different time limits to be checked out. For example, the DVD and multimedia collections are only available for a short loan period.

The special collections department hosts three exhibits a year. Once the exhibit is over, it is then digitized and made available online.

One of the incredibly rare items in the special collections is a 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle. There is an extensive medical collection because King’s was once the largest medical school in Europe. There are manuscript notebooks of doctors, noting anatomy and recipes for drugs. There is a copy of Florence Nightingale’s book, Sanitary History of the British Army at War with Russia, signed by the author. There is an original The Charters of the Provence of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia, printed by Ben Franklin. From the Foreign Commonwealth Office there is a photo journal of Queen Elizabeth II coronation from a commonwealth in Africa. One of the most remarkable finds in this treasure trove is a secret photo album of photographs of the Rhine in Germany, compiled before the war in an effort to track all transportation along the river. There is also a rich holocaust collection.

Book arts plug for the day: In the current special collections exhibition is The Saint John’s Bible, by Liturgical Press. This work is a hand calligraphed collaboration between calligrapher Donald Jackson and a Benedictine Foundation in Minnesota. It is absolutely stunning.

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

Dunfermline Carnegie Library

he Dunfermline Carnegie Library, the first Carnegie library in the world, opened on August 29, 1883. It was built in the domestic Tudor style. As the story goes, the opening day of the library every single book in the collection was checked out.

The library’s 59,000 item collection is mostly fiction, non-fiction, teen and children’s literature. In 1992 the library extended to incorporate a children’s room, a local history room and meeting space. The children’s room hosts craft event, rhyme times with toddlers and has a summer reading program for children ages 5 to 11 designed to encourage them to read during the summer months when school is out.

The Abbey Room is designated for special exhibits. During my visit the exhibit was called Pharaoh in the Fife where in replicas of Egyptian artifacts are on display. The library coordinates with local schools on these exhibitions.

The special collections has a room whose collection is devoted to the poet Robert Burns. This room is closed to the public except for special events. On display in this room is a Shakespeare 2nd folio.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Carnegie_Library,_Dunfermline.jpg

The local interest room is a very interesting part of the library. The books are organized by region so patrons can look for items based upon specific location. The public are welcome to donate photographs of the local area. The Morris Allan collection is a special collection of glass negatives from a local photographer. All the photographs in the library have been mounted on card and then placed in mylar slips. The library has a collection of maps including hand drawn maps of the local area.

There is a section of the room devoted to the history of Dunfermline in the 20th century. The library has nearly every copy of the local publications either in print or on microfiche. The public is free to propose an exhibit for this room as well. During my visit the exhibition was about a local football player who played for Liverpool before the WWII.

This is a lovely library which places much of its efforts into cultivating a sense of community in Dunfermline.

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

Central Library, City of Edinburgh Council

t is hard to imagine that within the heavy gothic buildings that decorate the ancient Royal Mile and the surrounding streets lives a thriving public library. The Central Library is a fine example of all that a public library can do.

There is an entire department devoted to creating a library environment online. This department is in charge of managing the corporate website but also with providing 24 hour access to the library. Your Library is a program designed to combine the library with social media. The librarians are playing with a library application for smart phones which has the potential to allow patrons to check out books using this application. The library maintains a Google map called Edinburgh Reads where patrons can find book clubs across the city. Tales of One City is a blog designed to bring library resources and events to patrons utilizing various kinds of social media including twitter, facebook, flickr, and youtube. Patrons also can receive a newsletter which is a more expanded version of the blog.

There is a feature called Library to Go which allows patrons to read online or check out e-books and e-audio. Among the references and online resources there are language programs, information on how to get a driver’s license, how to apply for funds and grants and genealogy resources. Within the library, plasma touch screens are features throughout the library providing information on library services, events and collections. There is potential to have digital exhibitions available on these screens as well. This social media and online resource blitzkrieg is designed to bring more patrons into the library both online and onsite.

There is a program specifically for reader development. The purpose of this program is to get people reading more and reading more widely. Author events are hosted. The Royal Book Trust has a program called Live Literature where the trust will match the libraries donation to bring an author to the central library or any of the community libraries. Authors often solicit to come promote their books as well.

The library is extremely active in book groups. There are 46 groups hosted through the library and over 40 more independent groups that work with the library. City of Literature events are events hosted through the library with the aim of promoting literature throughout Edinburgh. Read Aloud is a program where volunteers go into elderly homes and read to the residents and bring some library materials. The library is partners with a number of organizations such as Scottish Book Trust, Scottish Poetry Library, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh Book Festival, City of Literature, and Scottish Library and Information Council.

The library also has training programs called Frontline which educates staff members on how to engage with the public, how to set up effective displays, event training. Reader development and book group training is also available.

The Central Library is devoted to community development. In addition to all of the services I’ve already mentioned, the library has a department devoted to adult IT learning. 15 of the local communities join the Central Library in teaching classes. Classes are taught such as beginning computer classes and English as a second language. IT Buddies is a program where volunteers work directly with patrons. Future IT programs include learning IT family history, social media, and employment.

The library is also involved in literacy efforts. The Six Book Challenge is a program designed to encourage reluctant readers to read more. The library is also partners with Dyslexia Scotland which promotes online support software and hosts dyslexia reading groups for children.

I am absolutely blown away by the services offered at this library. This library is a shining example of innovation and community involvement. The library staff are keenly aware of the importance of keeping the library relevant in our modern technology culture. What a wonderful library. And here is the view from the back window...

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

The National Archives of Scotland

he National Archives of Scotland are located just over the bridge from the Royal Mile. The organization is in the midst of combining resources and merging with the National Registrar Office for Scotland. So in fact, it is no longer the National Archives but now the National Records of Scotland. 

http://www.freefoto.com/images/1087/18/1087_18_1---National-Archives-of-Scotland--Edinburgh_web.jpg

The archive is comprised of six buildings with about 450 employees. In the main building there is a search room called the Adam Dome where the public is welcome to come and browse the catalog for up to two hours. Further research requires a day ticket. The ground floor search rooms are all electronic. There are five different search rooms. The Thomas Thompson House is a large storage facility which devotes an entire floor to a conservation department.

The Brits, especially the Scots, are very interested in tracing their genealogy. It’s a bit of a craze in fact. So it is unsurprising that the majority of the records held in the National Records pertain mostly to family history. The National Records deliver records for the National Archives of Scotland, National Register of Archives of Scotland, Scottish Register of Tartans, Registers for birth, death and marriage, and an organization called the Scottish People Centre which holds information on Scottish culture.

Here is a laundry list of the kinds of documents the organization manages: state papers, deeds, church records, valuation rolls, family and estate papers, old parish records, birth records, death records, marriage records, court and legal records, government papers, business records, railway records, maps and plans.

http://www.tartansauthority.com/assets/images/tartan/National%20Archives%201.jpg

The organization engages in an interesting cooperative effort with educators and schools across the country using a program called Glow. This program brings the archival materials to students through video conferencing.

Many of the documents are ancient enough that the unique art of paleography is needed to transcribe the documents. Luckily, the organization provides classes for employees and the public to develop this rare skill. The website has links to a website called Scottishhandwritting.com.

The oldest document the organization has is a brief from King David I granting the land for St. Cuthbert’s Church that dates from 1120 AD. The church is still there, by the way.


*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

Christ Church College, Oxford University

xford University is made of of several different colleges. Having seen the central library for the university, we walked just down the lane to Christ Church College. As with the Bodleian, much of the architecture of the college has been used in films, specifically the Harry Potter Series. The grand staircase and the great hall have both been used along with the grounds outside and some of the cloisters.

Christ Church was the home of two great fantastical English authors; JRR Tolkien and Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll. It is said that Alice Liddell played in the private garden of the head librarian. In the great hall, amongst the many panes of stained glass there are characters from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  including the Queen, the White Rabbit, and Alice herself.

The library at Christ Church was opened in 1772. Materials are organized by collection, or rather the former owner of a collection. The librarian argues that keeping these collections together as they were collected by individuals provides us with valuable information regarding not just the collections people owned but how they built their collections. There are many annotations from the owners in these books as well as the occasional letter from the author to the collector.

The library has 100,000 early printed books. Cataloging efforts for these collections has been underway for 13 years. No small feat. Many of the books descriptions are acquired through antiquarian MARC records. As of now about 2/3 of the early printed books are in the online catalog.

The Ornery Collection is a collection of early printed science books including works by Galileo. This collection also came with a number of scientific instruments and objects which were lent to the Science Museum in the 19th century. There is a collection of around 700 manuscripts including a roman manuscript from 500 AD and the earliest known manuscript in England, the Sermons of Augustus from 1163.

The library has the third largest collection of manuscript scores behind the British Library and the Bodleian including Jacobean and Tudor scores. Plaster ornamentation in the walls of the library reflect the content of the collections including a musical motif which features a number of musical instruments.

There are also some royal collections including illuminated manuscripts from Elizabeth I and a treatise on how to be King which belonged to Edward III. One unique object is Thomas Wolsey's Cardinal Hat. On special exhibition was a collection of original manuscripts by Lewis Carroll and translations of his works in many different languages.

 

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

Bodleian Library, Oxford University

orty-five minutes outside of London is the lovely town of Oxford. This darling little burg has roots as far back as 700 AD. During these early years, men seeking education had to go to university in Paris. Several monasteries were established in Oxford due to its central location and subsequently, a university was established to keep the young men in the country to get their education. The Church of St. Mary the Virgin was used as the first educational building.

The first library at Oxford University was added to St Mary's in 1320. In those days the library was always located on the upper floor to protect the books from possible flood damage. The galleries were build with huge windows to allow sunlight in because no fire was allowed for illumination. To this day, each student must make a vow to never expose an open flame in the library. In the 15th century the first purpose built building for the university was erected for the purpose of lectures and examinations, all of which took place in Latin.

In 1488 a new library was finished which held the Duke Humfrey's Library and a divinity school. A few years later there was this guy named Henry who decided to shake things up a bit. As a result of his dissolution of the monasteries, all but a precious dozen of the books in the library were burned.

Thomas Bodley was a diploma tin the Netherlands and had been educated in Geneva and England. Seeing the value in education, he returned to Oxford to establish a central library. It is from his name that we have the Bodleian Library. The Bodleian Library was England's first copyright library and by 1610 was the second largest in the world. Each college in the university had their own library so the Bodleian acted as the university's central library. It houses 11 million books. Materials are not available for lending but must be accessed through the reading room.

The interior of the library is visually stunning. Much of the architecture has been featured in films including the Harry Potter series. In fact the library in the movie is in fact the stacks in the Bodleian. Two stories high, the books are packed on the shelves, showing off their beautiful spines.

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

Royal Geographical Society

enerally speaking, when most people think of archives it all seems rather boring. Stacks of dry pages recording the mundane conversations of dusty old men talking about the weather from sixty years ago. But there is always a diamond in the ruff, something that makes people stop and wonder at the marvels within. The Royal Geographical Society is one such diamond.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Royal_Geographical_Society,_Kensington.jpg

 Those of us who grew up watching Indiana Jones all secretly yearned for a chance to be just such an explorer. The RGS, founded in 1830, was instrumental to the exploration, discovery, and mapping of much of the world's unseen places. The RGS archive houses 2 million items relating to expeditions of the earths surface. There are 1 million maps, half a million photographs and drawings, 250,000 books and periodicals, and 15,000 artifacts.

The RGS has commonly been viewed as something of an old boys club. The Society wished to make archive's materials  more accessible to the public so in 2004 the Foyle Reading Room was built  to bring more patrons to view the collections. The collections are open to RGS members and to the public but non-members are required to pay a small fee unless they work in education and are doing research for their teaching. The catalog is available online and patrons are encouraged to e-mail what materials they need the day prior to coming to the reading room so that the archivists have time to retrieve the materials. One can drop in unannounced and request materials but will have to wait about 10 minutes for their requests to be retrieved. Some materials are available for lending to members.

Faced with the daunting task of cataloging the archives 2 million items, archivists outsourced the cataloging to India. This saved the staff much time and effort. But such endeavors always come with some minor glitches so the archivists are still involved with ensuring all the information is accurate. To maximize the best use of the place available the items are stored such that the books and maps are together and the artifacts, archives and pictures are housed together.

So just what kind of artifacts are we talking about here? When I arrived, the archivist had a huge table absolutely covered in different objects from various expeditions. There were metal collars with the name of a ship and the longitude and latitude to be placed on foxes to try and locate a ship which disappeared in pursuit of the North Pole. There is an unopened canister of meat left from the abandoned ship Resolute. Timbers from this ship were used to make the desk which now resides in the Oval Office in the White House. There was a hand-drawn map of Arabia by Lawrence of Arabia. There were articles of clothing from some of the most revered explorers in modern history. Included in these artifacts were diaries, log books of ships, correspondence, planning papers, receipts, and sketches.

The highlight of this visit was not just being able to see and touch these incredibly rare objects. Our welcoming host, Eugene Rae, took the time to explain the complete history of these unique items. The RGS is so much more than just and archive, but a living vessel of exploration history; a unique gem for anyone who loves history and to dream of unexplored places.

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

London Library

very hopeless book romantic dreams about a secret place where you disappear into and find yourself surrounded by thousands and thousands of books. Books from every corner of the world; books in every language; books you've never heard of and didn't know existed; books that might, if you simply cracked it open, change everything for you. Carlos Ruiz Zafon described a place like this in his novel Shadow of the Wind, known as the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. There is a place very like this and it is the London Library.

http://www.londonlibrary.co.uk/aboutus/index.htm

The library was founded in 1841 by Sir Charles Hayberd Wright. The emphasis of the library was as a lending library, but a lending library where one could borrow anything including the rare materials. The library was founded on the basis of subscription and continues this practice to this day. Members pay a fee to use the library. This way, the library is completely independent. It relies completely on the support of their 7,000 members and does not receive grants or funding.  Membership is rather expensive, but if used enough does pay for itself. Although there is a trust for students or researcher who cannot afford the monthly fee. They even have a royal patron. I believe you know her as the Queen.

The library contains 15 miles of shelving and predominantly features arts and humanities materials. There is materials representing 50 different languages, mostly European. The collections include history, literature, biography, topography, religion, and an incredibly broad category known as "Science and Miscellaneous." There are over 1 million books starting from the 16th century to the present. There is a rare materials collection which has 30,000 items. 97% of the collections are available for lending. The other 3% consist of the rarest and most valuable books such as a first edition Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species and an original King James Bible. They have 2,500 publications, 750 of which are current publications. The library acquired 8,000 new books a year and has subscriptions to electronic resources.

A short list of the literary  personalities which have held subscriptions to the library include George Eliot,  Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Henry James, Winston Churchill, Agatha Christie, and TS Eliot who was president of the library from 1952-1964. Virginia Woolf began her membership when she was 22 and retained her membership for the rest of her life. As a child, her father was the president of the library.

http://www.londonlibrary.co.uk/phase2/index.htm

The building itself is an enigma unto itself. The building has been built onto and added in so many ways it seems impossible to navigate as a novice patron. Due to the extreme weight of the books, the building itself began to sag. To remedy the problem, steel shelving was put in to make the structure for the books secure. On the top floor, one can look down through the metal grates which are the floor, all the way down seven floors. Those afraid of heights might want to keep your eyes up. This unique method to shelving presents certain challenges. The open grates allow for water to trickle down through all layers of books with nothing to hold it back. The same is true of flames.

There is a small preservation department which oversees the preservation management of the materials. There are no dust jackets. Any books that comes in as a paperback is taken to a binding firm and hard bound. The preservation team binds or re-binds 4,500 books a year. The team is also responsible for cataloguing the provenance of an object. The library keeps all versions of a book. The current head librarian enforces this as she believes that it is just as important to see not just the text but the manner in which it is interpreted across time.

The current head librarian has a wonderful quote which relates my own feelings in regards to books: "A good book is the essence of the human soul... The good of a book is not in the facts that can be got out of it, but the kind of resonance it awakens in our minds."


*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

Steven Lawrence Gallery

boarded the boat towards Greenwich expecting to see the Greenwich Naval College Library. I then learned that the library wasn't available to be seen because it is being moved to another facility. So instead we went to see the Steven Lawrence Gallery.

 The Steven Lawrence Gallery was created in 2000. The beginnings of the gallery are steeped in deep sorrow. Steven Lawrence was fatally stabbed at a bus stop in London. The police did not seek to prosecute the parties involved as their families  were criminal informants. Thus the racially motivated murder became a scandal. The term "institutionalized racism" emerged in the wake of this tragedy, revealing the corruption which was playing out in the system. Steven Lawrence's mother wished to establish an art gallery which would feature dynamic visual art which she felt expressed her son's own creativity.

http://www.gre.ac.uk/pr/slg

The gallery features exhibitions which are especially pertinent to Greenwich. The current exhibition features a collection of pieces from a group of artists. In the 1970's a group of artists around the Greenwich area, needing studio space but unable to afford it, started taking over abandoned industrial buildings to live and work in. The group worked in this way until the mid 1990's. Jeff Lowe, one of the groups founding members, later founded a charitable studio organization for artists in need of a studio space.

The exhibition is designed to pair pieces with similar color and emotion are coupled together. The pieces were a mixture of paintings and sculpture. Several of the artists featured were spouses or in relationships with the other artists, revealing just how close this group of artists are.  This exhibition is the second of a two part exhibition. The first show displayed archival materials from the group's organization.

After the visit to the gallery, we took a tour of the grounds of Greenwich. The place is the site of such history its hard to keep it all straight. It was the site of the Royal Naval College, the Palace of King James IV, the birthplace of Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I. It served as a naval hospital for retired sailors. It currently houses the college of Greenwich and Trinity College of Music. There are so many buildings build and each one seemingly built at a different time.

Walking the grounds, viewing the original foundations, and seeing the grand hall which the sailors found too fancy to eat in, one feels just how much history there can be in one place.

One of my favorite features is the Skittle Alley. Built for the sailors entertainment, the old bowling alley has pins made from the wood of old ships and the balls are left over cannon balls.

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

V&A National Art Library

nyone who loves art and also happens to love books would kill to see the National Art Library in the Victoria & Albert museum. Roaming the halls of the building you are confronted with some of the greatest artworks from across the globe. The library rests at the top of a grand staircase and is floor to ceiling books on one side and floor to ceiling windows on the other. The windows look out onto the central courtyard of the museum and it is all to easy to get lost in the fantasy of this place.

The Library began in 1837 and was the library of the School of Design and was housed at Somerset House. In 1850 the library was moved into the V&A and in 1890 it moved into the rooms it occupies today. The collection spans all kinds of art from across the globe including textiles, glass, ceramics, theatre, prints, drawings, architecture, and even computer art. The library even keeps trade and exhibition catalogues and gallery and auction house catalogues. These catalogues are essential when tracking the provenance of an artwork.

The National Art Library has a very different approach to the public that many other libraries such as the British Library. Rather than having to apply and needing references, anyone can come use the library. It is a reference library and not a lending library but anyone who wished to use the materials is more than welcome to. The librarians will assist patrons to make copies of what they need to substitute being able to remove the items from the library.

The classification scheme for this library can only be described as wonky. It is mostly classified by size, but some materials are classified by the date of the item's arrival into the library. The librarians have detailed and complicated maps assisting them to help find the books they need and the system seems to work well enough. But I can see a really anal US librarian's brain exploding thinking about this particular classification scheme.

What do I love most about this library? Artist books!!!! The National Art Library has the largest collection of Artist Books in Europe at just around 3,000. They have an online catalogue with pictures for patrons to see the books before they request them.

The library is primarily a reference library but it does have a special collections department which houses some materials which a reference library would not ordinarily have. For example, they have 11 of 14 Charles Dicken's manuscripts. I personally got to see the manuscript for David Copperfield. Another treasure I finally had to opportunity to see: John Audobon's Birds of America. The John Forester Collection contains more than 18,000 books. This collection features materials relating to English literature, the history of theatre, rare and illuminated manuscripts, and British history from the 17th century.

I think I found where I want to work :)

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

Roald Dahl Museum

bout an hour north of London in Buckinghamshire there is a little town called Great Missenden. In this town there lived one of the greatest children's book authors of our time. He lived in a house with a Gypsy's Caravan and a private hut where he spend nearly everyday creating worlds of such wonder and terror that have beguiled the imaginations of many a child during the second half of the last century to this day.

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre is a delightful institution which welcomes lovers of imagination. The museum itself is rather tiny compared to the sweeping halls of the British Museum but for those who have interest in the life of the author will find the place rich with information. There are three exhibition rooms. One room contains information from the Dahl's childhood and reflect much of the of the autobiography Boy. Exhibits relating to the author's time away at school and inspirations for future stories are featured here.

Another room contains information and exhibits relating to the author's time in the Royal Air Force and his profession as a writer immediately after. The delightful ting about both of these rooms is that there are exhibition cases with the personal archives of Roald Dahl himself. The museum houses the complete archive including photographs, manuscripts, and objects. There are more than 200 items in this collection. Every three months a new selection from the collection is rotated out of the exhibition cases to ensure the unique materials do not suffer any light damage. The archives are available for access by appointment and can be viewed in the archives reading room. Given that the catalogue is not available online, those looking to access the archives can purchase scanned PDF's of the archives.

There is another room relating to Dahl's practice are a writer with a replica of his writing hut. One of the most remarkable things about this museum is the efforts gone to make the young visitors engage in creative activities. There is a shadow puppet theatre, rubber stamps to decorate their own stories and several stations for collage work. In addition to the three exhibition rooms there  is a craft room and a story telling room specifically for the groups of children who come to the museum.

The place is designed to engage and encourage the imaginations of its visitors; children and children at heart. The darling cafe next door, Cafe Twit, caters to candy lovers just as Dahl himself was. Personally, I enjoyed the Fizzlecrumper (Lemonade with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sprinkles).

This combined with a few days staying in a quiet, elegant B&B reading books and scribbling away in diaries and journals greatest hopes, dreams, and story ideas made for a wonderful weekend. Countryside is littered with wild flowers, caterpillars and ponies.

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

British Library

ne cannot see the British Museum and rule out the British Library. Mostly because the Library existed before the Museum. A gentleman by the name of Sir Hans Sloane had the strange belief that knowledge should be shared. Sloane was rather educated; he was a physician, traveler and scholar. Amongst his many other accomplishments he invented quinine tablets for treating malaria and perhaps most important of all... he introduced drinking chocolate to Europe. He intended for his books to be used for a library after his death.

http://www.urban75.org/london/british-library.html

Another noteworthy founder of the library is Sir Robert Cotton. He was keen enough to gather up many books before they were destroyed by Henry VIII. These two collections were the beginning of what would later become the British Museum and the British Library.

The British Library is also known as the National Library of the United Kingdom, Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Similar to the Library of Congress in the United States, the library is responsible for housing one of every publication with an ISBN in the UK. This means that the library receives 8,000 new titles EVERY DAY. This presents a monumental cataloguing task. The books do have CIP of Catalogue in Print data which has some cataloguing information. However, since this data is being provided by the book's publisher, the cataloguers must do their own cataloguing in order to ensure there is no bias.

The library's materials are spread out among four facilities. The main branch houses some 35 million books. Built below the building is the largest subterranean tower block in Europe. There are four floors of shelving and the underground Piccadilly line actually runs through the stacks. This place is huge. In the countryside of Yorkshire there is another even huger complex which houses 60% of the library's materials. 185 million items. Big.

The main building in London as it exists now has only been in operation since 1997. In the 1950's the idea was proposed that the library should be removed from the museum and have its own facilities. In the 1960's construction began on the new building. 36 years later, the building opened. So what happened in all that time in between? As the librarian put it, "Monumental Cock-up." Due to poor planning and finances the process took much longer than anyone expected. And the consequences: the building is half as big as it should have been and cost twice as much.  Half the room, double the price. Rather than becoming a failed attempt, the library is thriving and making due with the limited space. One would never know. Perks of seeing behind the scenes, eh?

How do you use the library? You have to come in knowing what you are looking for. Because you cannot just cruise the stacks yourself, you have to look at the library's catalogue and know what you want before you can really get started. Bring an ID or passport and a debit card and fill out an application and you will be issued a reader's card which will get you a spot in one of the reading rooms.

How do the books get to you? The library uses a system called Automatic Book Retrieval System. Once the librarian has located the book, he or she will place the book into a basket which is placed on a conveyor belt which takes the book to the appropriate reading room. This process involved a lot of scanning of bar codes and it will take about twenty minutes for the book to get to you.

The library is the worlds 3rd largest library but is considered the world's richest library.  The library has made a point of cultivating a diverse collection that would reach any patron. There are 180 foreign language curators and 35% of the libraries patrons live abroad.

One of the first sights you will see upon entering the library is the stories high glass tower of stunning gold-tooled, leather bound books. This collection is known as the King's Library and is the complete personal library of King George III. There are 67,000 books in this collection and all are available to look at. In fact about 30 books a day from this collection are requested.

http://www.urban75.org/london/british-library.html

Some of the many treasures the library has is the Klencke Atlas, the world's largest atlas. The worlds largest stamp collection lives here including the worlds first stamp, the Penny Black. To name just a few of their other collections are manuscripts by Milton, Austen, Wordsworth, Bronte, Johnson, Wilde, Conrad, Woolf, Marlowe, Middleton, Chaucer, Darwin, Freud, Hayden's Messiah, Beethoven, Schubert. They have a collection of Beatles documents including hand written lyrics by George Harrison and John Lennon and lyrics for unrecorded songs. Oh, and the Magna Carta.

There is also a fantastic exhibition of science fiction which traces the earliest manifestations of what we now call science fiction and how the genre has grown and expanded to include such a diversity of ideas. And as if they knew I was coming, waiting in a case for me was the artists book Edwin Abbott's 1884 Flatland by Arion Press.

*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Capproject.