52 for 150: What's So Special About Your Library's Book Art Collection?

Our annual Altered Book workshop display is just around the corner, so for week 35 of our Kansas sesquicentennial video series we thought it would be cool to feature our Book Art Collection.

Book Arts look at the book as an art object, expanding on its mere functionality and familiar format while maintaining the essence of the "book" as a container of information. To get a better sense of this interesting art form, visit Books Outside the Binding, our most recent book art exhibit from 2008-2009.

About 52 for 150

Every object has a story, and stories build history. To celebrate 150 years of Kansas statehood we're featuring 52 objects (or collections of related objects)—something new each week throughout the year—from the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library's 130-year-old special, and permanent collections, that represent our collective state history and cultural diversity.

Our collections are available for teachers, students, researchers and general interest, and we hope this online video program will provide insight into what's so "special" about Special Collections. Your library's commitment to collecting art and preserving local history makes it possible for users today and in the future to have immediate access to invaluable research material and cultural artifacts.

To make an appointment to see our Book Art collection, contact Brea Black, Special Collections Librarian at 785-580-4512 / bblack@tscpl.org. For help finding books and videos related to this topic, call or stop by the Sabatini Gallery (785-580-4515). We're located on your right just beyond the Library rotunda entrance.