The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Library ‘upcycles’ old books into crafts
The North Ridgeville Branch Library, 35700 Bainbridge Road, hosted its monthly upcycle book craft session Oct. 17.
The session brings out the creative side for guests using re-purposed books in developing artistic creations catered to the season, said Adult Services Librarian Scot Allyn.
Eight participants spent the afternoon harnessing their inner Edgar Allen Poe in gluing written passages to a skull accompanied by a raven.
“I try to do something thematic for the season,” Allyn said. “And today, we’re doing a Halloween craft with a skull and we are going to put a raven on top and quote the raven nevermore in his beak.
“We have to have a literary theme because this is the library. The weather is perfect. Everybody is
in the right mood and we are here for an hour, or an hour and a half, and when we are done everybody has something to take home to put on their table.”
Allyn, who serves as facilitator, started the program
about 14 months ago as a way to solve the problem of what to do with outdated books in the library’s catalogue.
“People donate things to the library all the time,” he said. “And if they donate an encyclopedia that’s 20 years old, we can’t use it.
“And we can’t even sell them in the book sale because they’re 20 years old. They are filled with beautiful illustrations and maps and full of color and we use them for other things.
“We can’t just put them in the dumpster, so they live again through the beautiful art that these ladies create in North Ridgeville.”
Each month, anywhere between eight and 12 participants join in on the fun despite some predictable hazards as guests tried to keep the glue off their fingers.
“We just usually come every month,” said Elyria resident Pam Bailey. “Scott (Allyn) has it once a month and we’re here. It gets us out of the house.”
The event comes as the Branch is preparing to host a weekend book sale starting.
It will run from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Oct. 27-28, and from 1-4:30 p.m., Oct. 29.