Why I Make Books
An Old Interest Finds a Home
In 1976, when I was in Library School at the University of Washington, I saw an exhibit of books in the Special Collections Room. They were bound in unusual ways and housed in boxes that were strange and artistic. I wanted to learn how to make books like that, but I was in school to get myself a profession, so I just walked away. It never occurred to me that I could do both.
In 2000, when we were working on the new Cerritos Library, I rediscovered my interest in artists’ book. I wanted to create a special collection for the new library of books that would challenge our visitor’s ideas of the architecture of the book, in the same way we were challenging their ideas on what a public library could be. The collection was christened The Art of the Book: the Book as Art, and now contains over 200 items available to the public.
To better discuss the books in the collection, I started taking classes at the San Francisco Center for the Book, the Los Angeles Book Arts Center, UCLA Extension, the Guild of Bookworkers, and elsewhere. Every class was a joy, every person I met was interesting and supportive, and I got hooked. And the advent of computers, desktop publishing and the web have brought bookmaking within reach of anyone interested in pursuing them.
Bookmaking appeals to my sense of design and imagination, and the best part is the problem solving that each step of the process presents. And with the motto, “You can make a book out of anything,” the possibilities are endless. The artists and books in the Cerritos collection have inspired me, but I don’t pretend to be in their league. But I believe the joy I experience in making books is equal to theirs. To all of them, my very greatest thanks!
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