Design by the Book

We're pretty excited at the Library today, because tonight is the debut screening of a documentary short of Design by the Book at the Brooklyn Arts Council Film Festival!

Design by the Book began life as a series here at NYPL, co-produced by Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge. It follows the experiences of five local artists as they explore the Library's collections (and the building itself too!) in search of inspiration for their work. I was their resident reference librarian and had great fun helping them out in their searches. We're planning some super fall programming that will bring more crafty and artsy books out of the stacks and to the DIY-ing masses, so stay tuned if you want to get some hands-on library inspiration too. But in the meantime, come to tonight's event and see some great films and meet the makers!

What: Design by the Book will be screened as part of a curated collection entitled Artists in Residence
When: 9:00pm
Where: Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO (16 Main Street at the corner of Water Street)

Did you enjoy following the adventures of our Design by the Book artists as they found inspiration at NYPL? Do you want to dig in to the Library's collections too, to find materials to fuel your own creativity? If so, then check out my User's Guide to NYPL for DIY Designers and Artisans--it will get you up to speed on the treasures and the quirks of the entire Library system. And with it in hand you can start your own hunt for inspiring stuff. Once you get started in your handmade endeavors, please join our Design by the Book Group on Flickr! It’s an open group, and you can post pictures of your creations there, along with a caption explaining the part that NYPL played in your project!

Here's one completed project from the Design by the Book Group (thanks, egoldberg.rm, for sharing!)--a vintage image in the Library's Digital Gallery has been remade into a lovely blue-hued sunprint:

Now it's your turn! Get making and start sharing--I'll do the same!

It's been grand working with our Design by the Book artists Lorena Barrezueta, Rebecca Kutys, Mike Perry, John Pomp, and Julia Rothman. They never failed to surprise me in their interests and their unexpected uses of what they found at the Library. In this, the last episode, they share their Library-inspired creations. I hope that you've enjoyed this series. Stay tuned for future DIY and design projects from the Library!

The holidays are over, and our intrepid artisans are back at work. Check out the latest episode of Design by the Book to see what they are making!

Watch as the Design by the Book artists come to the Library in search of inspiration and information!

I'm so pleased to be able to tell you, at last, all about a project that has been consuming me this fall at NYPL. This amazing project that I've been lucky enough to work on is a series of small documentaries following five talented local artists as they gather inspiration for their work at the New York Public Library. It's co-produced by Grace Bonney of leading design site Design*Sponge and my Library colleagues in the Digital Experience Group. The first episode is now out, and you can watch here:

I'll continue to post news about the series here, so stay tuned. You can also visit the Design by the Book homepage for more information, including links to each artist's site.