Marie Myers, Art Educator & Library Associate
Jacksonville Public Library
Jacksonville, Florida
A great Mini-Grant program is often a product of meticulous planning and improvisation. The Jacksonville Public Library held a series of five workshops in traditional bookmaking in both the main library and a neighborhood branch. Each subject—paper-making, printmaking, monoprint, bookbinding and writing—built on the previous one: the prints were made on the handmade paper, then the sheets were hand-sewn into a community book and one blank sketchbook for each child to take home.
Paper-making was so popular that workshops were introduced to three more library branches. Writing about the images was far less popular, so those workshops were opened to other library patrons, adults who were delighted to participate. By being responsive as the program progressed, the library turned it into a real community project involving diverse populations: home-schooled and inner-city kids and teens as well as adults who are often not included in creative library activities.
