{"id":327,"date":"2014-03-17T02:01:49","date_gmt":"2014-03-17T02:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/?p=327"},"modified":"2014-03-18T00:44:14","modified_gmt":"2014-03-18T00:44:14","slug":"highlights-from-chicago-zinefest-2014-the-peoples-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/17\/highlights-from-chicago-zinefest-2014-the-peoples-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Highlights from Chicago Zinefest 2014: The People’s Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Chicago<\/a><\/p>\n

I recently returned from the 2014 Chicago Zinefest<\/a>. What an amazing weekend. Anne and I were able to spend time with my sister Nichole, her friend from Canada, Jessica, our mutual friend Bridget. On several occasions, we also were able to connect with some old colleagues of Nichole’s we had met previously.<\/p>\n

One of the best parts of any conference or festival is meeting other people and exploring the similarities and differences between each other.<\/p>\n

Here is an incomprehensive list of people and ideas that I was able to engage with.<\/p>\n

The People’s Library<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n

An amazing collective of individuals (started by Mark Strandquist and Courtney Bowles) who\u00a0 create new books from old and capture the current histories of the residents in Richmond, Virginia.<\/p>\n

I had the pleasure of chatting with\u00a0Courtney Bowles for a while at my table. \u00a0I am looking forward to reading through the zine she gave me.<\/p>\n

From their web site:<\/p>\n

The People’s Library is an ongoing collaborative project featuring libraries designed, built and authored by community members. The project transforms and re-purposes discarded books into blank canvasses for the production and exchange of local histories.<\/p>\n

In Richmond, VA, at the Main Branch of the Richmond Public Library, a thousand blank books are being created for anyone in the community to check out, bring home, fill with their histories and bring back to the library to be included in the permanent collection. The resulting installation includes a thousand micro-monuments, becomes the real and symbolic meeting place for alienated publics, and offers sustainable, collective and critical alternatives for the form and function of public art.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I would like to start something similar here in the Greater Lafayette area at our own libraries. \u00a0I know that both discard \u00a0(Goodwill, recycling, etc)\u00a0paper materials that could be transformed into new, blank books that could be used to document our area in interesting and unique ways.<\/p>\n

What’s stopping local businesses and hangouts from having their own book checked out\u00a0and returning it upon its completion? \u00a0Anyone remember\u00a0Vienna<\/a>\u00a0Books or similar cafe community books? \u00a0The creation process is modular and could easily include young, old, West Lafayette, Lafayette, and everything inbetween. \u00a0The Tippecanoe Arts Federation<\/a>\u00a0could help engage the community’s involvement.<\/p>\n

You can learn more by digesting some of the press surrounding The People’s Library project:<\/p>\n