I don't know about the rest of you,
but today's hands-on activity proved rather challenging. I usually blame my
lack of skill with crafts on the awkwardness associated with being left-handed,
so maybe it was just me. (We truly live in a right-handed world!) We were doing simple
tasks of folding papers, cutting the edges, and tying string. I may not be cut
out for a career in paper-making because I could barely handle that! My edges were
in tatters from my rough jabs with the envelope opener, the two holes I made in
the whole packet didn't even include some of the folded pages, and then I
couldn't even tie it all together because I managed to snip the string too
short. For this reason, the library motto - You can read it, can't you? -
resonated with me. This gets down to the fundamental purpose of a book. As
discussed in last week's posts, the binding can certainly tell you a lot about
a book, but the main point is what rests within the pages.
Monday, September 24, 2012
You can read it, can't you?
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I agree that this week's activity was a fun way to get to experience older book models hands-on! I actually really liked doing our little project. However, we were told that not all book-makers spent much time or gave much effort to making copies, and that's why some books had crude edges or uneven pages. Alas, I may be too much of a perfectionist for the profession, because I definitely cheated and used the scissors to create straight edges. And if I did that with every book I made, I would make approximately... a minimal amount of books. My productivity rates would be very dismal indeed. Nevertheless, it was really an engaging opportunity to make books of our own, and I'm glad we haven't plummeted to our deaths over the railing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first walked into the book history lab I thought the same thing as you. I was looking very intently at all the paintings to see if any of them would move and wave at me. I even thought to myself, "I feel like Harry Potter right now!" It is such an exhilarating feeling to be standing in a room that most students on campus don't even know exists. I have to admit that I would not even know what lay inside of the Cushing Library if I hadn't taken this seminar. Being able to go into that "forbidden room" has made me so grateful that I signed up for this seminar.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The only thing that saddened me about being up in the "restricted section" was the fact that we were only a few people out of thousands who will ever go though A&M to see or even care about what's going on in Cushing Library. It was so amazing to see the different pictures that were stored on the 3rd floor and all the books that were archived on the shelves. It really is a shame that these wonderful things hidden on the 3rd floor are never seen by most of the students, and that many people will walk by Cushing's doors day after day without realizing the treasures that it holds within its walls.
DeleteI guess the majority of us had a little Harry Potter flashback then. Can you imagine binding all of the Harry Potter books the way we did though? Talk about a lot of work! Not to mention the fact that I'd probably need a drill to punch a hole through all those pages just to be able to get the needle through. Needless to say, I think we all gained a new respect for the old book binders of the past.
ReplyDeleteI agree Amy, I cant imagine a world without all the ammenities we have today. Having to hand make all that literature makes us tired just thinking about it! But do you think that having a handmade piece adds something more special about such as the human spirit? Knowing that every book had a story would inspire me to continue making them regardless of the more effort it took.
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