Wednesday 31 May 2017

TechShop Announces New Partner Licensing Model, Closes Pittsburgh Location

TechShop CEO Dan Woods penned a letter today to TechShop members about some big changes they are making to their business model.

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The MakeShift Challenge: To the Bat Cave!

Can you find your way out of a pitch-black bat cave using only your wits and what's on your back?

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Review: The Droplit v2 Resin Printer

SeeMeCNC’s DropLit v2 may require a healthy dose of patience and elbow grease, but it offers a low-cost entry point to high-res 3D printing.

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Join us at ALA Annual in Chicago!

We are thrilled to announce that the Library as Incubator Project will have a presence at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Chicago this June. Library friends, we’d love to see you there. Special thank you to the Programming Librarian Interest Group (PLIG) and ALA for sponsoring BOTH of these programs. 

Here’s where you can find us:

Spotlight on: Artist Residencies – Saturday June 24, 1:00-2:30 p.m., Palmer House (Water Tower Room)

Libraries and arts organizations are often the first things to be cut when budgets get tight. They’re also often on the same page: exposing people to creative ideas in a public space where synergy and exciting accidents can happen. Library Artist Residencies combine the best of both worlds, bringing expert artists, writers, and creators into the library space as living resources that can help showcase the artistic process. 

The Library as Incubator Project’s co-founders will moderate a panel discussion featuring representatives from three successful creative Residency programs around the country: the Artist in Residence program at The Bubbler at Madison Public Library, the Children’s Writer in Residence program through the Associates of Boston Public Library, and the Temple University Libraries Artist in Residence Program. This session will highlighting the programs and partnerships that result from the library residency pairing, as well some of the exciting projects produced by artists and makers in the library space. The LAIP will also share progress on a new resource for identifying Library Residency programs that librarians and artists can use.

Add it to your Scheduler: http://ift.tt/2rnLZ4C 

Library Takeover: Or, How Madison Public Library Relinquished Control of Community Programming – Sunday June 25, 3:00-4:00 p.m., McCormick Place (W187b)

In this session, Madison Public Library Community Engagement Team members share their experiences coordinating an event planning boot camp that offers up significant library resources, spaces, and money to community members in order to support events that directly reflect what is important to the participants and their networks. Participant teams were made up of individual, non-affiliated community members; applications from non-profit organizations, other city agencies, and institutions were not accepted.  

Adapted from an original idea by UK performance poetry group Apples & Snakes and Half-Moon Theatre, Library Takeover @ MPL engaged teams of adult learners in a six-week long event-planning bootcamp, resulting in large-scale community events at the Central Library. Racial equity was a key objective in the program plan.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017

Making a Toolbox from a Single 2×4

A father and daughter build a toolbox out of a single 2x4.

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Edible Innovations: Joyloop Offers Gluten-Free Options without Sacrificing Flavor

Adam Pollack hopes his company Joyloop will provide gluten-free options that are still delicious and filling.

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Maker Pro News: Maker Faire Bay Area 2017

The maker pro community turned out in full force for Maker Faire Bay Area 2017. We saw advancements in a lot of fields this past week too.

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Resin.io Makes It Easy to Program All Your Smart Devices at Once

Resin.io creates new open source projects and makes the process of software programming easier for makers of all skill levels.

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From the New Issue of Make: Our 8 Standout Dev Boards

These eight boards stand out for their advanced specs, built-in offerings, and, in some cases, their innovative interface options.

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Monday 29 May 2017

alt.ctrl.GDC Showcases Custom Interfaces for Video Games

alt.ctrl.GDC showcases wild and weird control schemes that create a whole new kind of unique immersion for video games.

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Maker Faire Bay Area 2017: The Future of the Food Maker Movement

The Maker Movement has been shaping a new generation of “agents of change” who are a huge interest to the Future Food Institute.

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Sunday 28 May 2017

This Week in Making: Voltron DIY Kit, Fidget Spinner Nails, and More

This week saw the Make: team in recovery mode. Maker Faire wiped us out. Didn't stop a lot of other makers from doing cool stuff though.

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Saturday 27 May 2017

Friday 26 May 2017

Tips of the Week: Maker Faire Bay Area Edition

This week's tips come to you by way of the greatest show & tell on Earth, Maker Faire Bay Area.

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Adam Savage’s “Sunday Sermon” from Maker Faire Bay Area ’17

Even if you don’t identify as a maker, Adam Savage's annual "Sunday Sermon" Maker Faire talk is an inspiration for those who create.

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Learn to Build Your Own Lithium Batteries with Micah Toll’s New Book

Micah Toll's new book, DIY Lithium Batteries: How To Build Your Own Battery Packs, is full of practical advice for building batteries.

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Thursday 25 May 2017

Bigfacebox, a Simple Way to Gigantify Your Head

Turn a box, a plastic lens, and some LEDs into a goofy-fun head magnifier.

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Review: The MonoFab SRM-20

The monoFab SRM-20, boasts accuracy comparable to other manufacturers. However, the user experience is where the machine truly excels.

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Edible Innovations: Andrew Brentano Harvests Insects from a “Smart Farm”

If you look beyond the initial "ew" issue, then the world of edible insects is not only delicious, but sustainable.

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Wednesday 24 May 2017

The MakeShift Challenge: Mountain Bike Rescue

Can you rescue your friend, who weighs a good 30 pounds more than you, up off that ledge and back down the trail to your car before nightfall?

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Program an SMS Bot Using Python and Twilio

Make your very own SMS bot that will get you the information that you want, without the need for a strong 3G or LTE connection.

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Showing Off: The Making of an Exhibit

This post originally appeared on the LAIP in May 2016.

Exhibit_Signby Sharon Wolff

It seems to me that one of the most frustrating things about working in an institution like a museum or a library is having to coax people into your institution. It can be like pulling teeth, but the best ways to do it involve things like programming and exhibits.

But how best to go about arranging an exhibit? Believe it or not there are good ways and bad ways to do it; here are a few things to keep in consideration.

The first concern should always be the safety of the materials that are being put on display. Depending on what they are, there are preservation and security issues that need to be taken into account. Preservation concerns are dependent on the objects being displayed: what material they are, how old they are, their size and structure, as well as the length of the planned exhibit. Harsh lighting can and will cause damage and deterioration to paper materials, along with fading of ink and paint. Precautions such as cases and rotation of materials for long exhibits should be taken; even something like turning pages in books can help minimize the damage caused to them. Proper support should be given to objects and books to put the least amount of strain on them as possible. If you are unsure about the preservation needs of any of the items you plan to put on display you should consult a professional.

Book_Support

Security concerns are related to the value of the object and the location of the exhibit. If at all possible, avoid putting a valuable object on display. Instead put a less valuable reproduction of it; such as a reprint of a rare book or professional-grade photographs of objects. If your institution has security cameras the exhibit should be placed in a way that it can be easily monitored, and staff should be able to have at least one eye on the exhibit at all times when it is open to the public. This is especially relevant if the exhibit has a tactile element; in this case objects should be closely watched and/or somehow attached to their display podium.

Security concerns are related to the value of the object and the location of the exhibit.

Now on to the fun part: designing the exhibit. Color needs to be considered, of both the objects and the background of the cases and/or walls that the items are being displayed against. Background colors should be as neutral as possible, or subtly contrasting to make items ‘pop’. I must emphasize subtle; too much contrast and the focus will be on the background and not the objects. The arrangement of the items should also be taken into account; it is important that each display area is balanced or something will seem ‘off’.

Brooklyn_Bridge

The most easily recognizable form of balance is symmetrical balance, demonstrated in the picture above. This is fairly self-explanatory, the image or display can be divided down the middle with a straight line and be identical on either side. This can be easily done with objects, for example two smaller items on either side of a large item in the middle. Simple and satisfying. Slightly more difficult but most likely more necessary is asymmetrical or occult balance, demonstrated in the image below. This is a more naturally occurring form of balance, and can really only be described as “you know it when you see it.” If you are having trouble with arranging objects or are unsure about the layout you have chosen, ask someone with a fresh pair of eyes to come in and look at your progress so far.

The exhibit should be featured both online and ‘in person’ at your institution, and flyers posted in appropriate places around town can’t go amiss either.

Starry_Night

Other concerns to take into account are the layout of the display cases, leave enough room for browsers to walk easily among them, and the advertisement of the event. The exhibit should be featured both online and ‘in person’ at your institution, and flyers posted in appropriate places around town can’t go amiss either. With these elements in mind, you are on your way to a successful exhibit!

 

scarf2Sharon Wolff is an Archives and Records Administration grad student at University at Albany, SUNY, soon to be entering the work force. She has interned at the Smithsonian Institute American Art/Portrait Gallery Library and has been a Technical Assistant in the University at Albany Theatre Department. She currently works part time at the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives on campus.



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Tuesday 23 May 2017

Maker Pro News: Maker Humble Bundle, Fabricating Fabric, GPU Tech Conference, and More

Read a collection of maker pro works in Humble Bundle, fabricate fabric, and catch up on the announcements from GTC 2017.

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Edible Innovations: Organic Pantry’s Snacks Prove That Less Is More

Theresa Petry developed a business aimed at helping those who wish to live healthier, find food that tastes good

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CNC Routing A 12 Foot Wide Piece Of Window Art

Inspired by cathedrals and toads, I made some giant art.

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The Labs @ CLP: The Further Electrified Adventures of the CLP Music Department

The Labs program launched in 2012 with a focus on a teen audience and while teens are still the focus of The Labs we’ve been looking for opportunities to engage other age groups across the Library. While Tara’s project is not a Labs project it is certainly in keeping with the experiential and experimental nature of The Labs. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about Tara’s great work with synthesizers at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Main Library in the Music, Film & Audio Department.

Enjoy.

~Corey Wittig, Digital Learning Lead Librarian, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Leon Theremin circa 1927 with a Theremin amplified by one of his speaker systems. Image is from the book The Synthesizer by Mark Vail.

by Tara Goe

This past January I introduced the Carnegie Library Music Department’s new gadget lending pilot project on this here website, and as promised I’m back with an update. The good news is that the program was a massive success. Not only was the collection of electronic instruments and gear almost continuously checked out (and returned!) but the handful of instruments that were available for in-house use were played by hundreds of curious music adventurers.

The level of enthusiasm and engagement that our users (many of them new to the department) have shown for the lending program exceeded our expectations. We have chosen to continue the program and are working towards expanding the collection offerings. While it’s tempting to move forward full steam ahead, we have chosen instead to regroup and come up with a more comprehensive plan for summer and fall. I’d like to share with you a few things we’re currently working on.

Theremania Day!

Theremin virtuoso Pamelia Stickney, courtesy of http://ift.tt/2rP3dEX

By far the instrument that has generated the most interest is the Moog Theremini, which lives at the entrance to our department. In honor of this most mysterious musical instrument we have chosen to declare May 18th Theremania Day.

Theremin virtuoso Pamelia Stickney will be stopping by the CLP – Main Library for a lunchtime lecture and performance. She will also be giving a concert in the evening at the local Glitter Box Theater, and before her performance folks can stop by the Documentary Salon at Pittsburgh Filmmakers for a free screening of a fascinating and charming documentary about the life and times of Leon Theremin — inventor, unwilling KGB spy and prisoner.

Expanded Music Programming

Intro to Synthesizers & Electronic Sound Making with Pittsburgh Modular

The two music programs we offered during our pilot (Intro to Synthesizers with Pittsburgh Modular and a Sound Recording Skillshare with Madeleine Campbell) were well-attended, packed house affairs and so we’re working toward offering more music programming in the future using what has been successful for The Labs as a model.

Learning about making sounds and recording them with engineer Madeleine Campbell

We’re especially excited about developing an electronics meetup group — sort of like a knitting circle, but for electronics! For this program users can BYOP (bring their own project, such as guitar pedals and the like) or try their hand at putting a kit together that will be added to the library’s circulating gadgets collection. This program is a natural extension of the connected learning model that has worked so well for our Teen Labs. More program ideas we’re exploring – Beatmaking with the Roland TR-8, Open Source Synthesizers, and an Ableton Live Learning Circle among others.

Musical Incubation

Our Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms SV-1 Blackbox, available in-house or for checkout

As mentioned on this site in January, the Music Department doesn’t (yet) have a dedicated programming space but the instruments we have had on offer in-house (a Korg MS-20 Mini Synthesizer, a Pittsburgh Modular SV-1, and our Moog Theremini) have gotten quite a bit of use. Since we can’t offer a dedicated space for musical exploration in the near future, we’re doing the next best thing and inviting a handful of local musicians to use our musical instruments collection to create unique sound pieces to be performed in the library later this year.

A piece from the Pittsburgh Sheet Music Collection

We’ll offer pieces from our Historic Pittsburgh Sheet Music collection as inspiration, which contains hundreds of songs about the people, places, and things that make Pittsburgh uniquely Pittsburgh. We’ll be encouraging our invited musicians to create some new (electrified!) songs or pieces that celebrate our fair city. Here’s hoping that we’ll have something fun to share with all of you later this fall!

Want More?

 

Tara Goe is the Film Specialist in the Music, Film & Audio Department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main. Her burgeoning curiosity about electronics and programming inspired her to build her first musical instrument — a miniature synthesizer that fits in an Altoids can. She is now starting to explore the sonic possibilities of the Arduino.



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Monday 22 May 2017

9 Costs That Factor into Mass Manufacturing a Hardware Product

Without question, the costs for mass manufacturing are the most critical expenses when bringing a new hardware product to market.

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Review: The mUVe 3D DLP Pro+ Creates Clean and Crisp Resin Prints

This DLP-based resin machine may not be aesthetically pleasing to look at, but it creates beautiful results for an affordable price.

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Sunday 21 May 2017

This Week in Making: Make: books, Learning to Cope with A.I., and More

This week saw a few new books added to Make:'s library, some old books offered through Humble Bundle, and a girl finding solace in an A.I.

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Saturday 20 May 2017

Tinkercad Adds Embedded Circuits, Lego Exports, and More

Tinkercad, the web-based CAD program, is a great gateway for new designers to learn the basics of computer-assisted design. Those basics get a little more powerful with the announcement of new features that allow users to do everything from integrating electronics to exporting to Lego. The announcement, which happened today […]

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Glowforge Has Come To Maker Faire With News

Glowforge has come to Maker Faire Bay Area with exciting news.

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Friday 19 May 2017

Tips of the Week: Tiny Component Pick Up, Zip Tie Cable Weaving, and Spec’ing for Fun

Simple techniques for weaving cable, kludging tools, handling small parts, and the importance of paint medium.

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Maker Faire Bay Area 2017: Live Updates and More

Welcome to Maker Faire Bay Area, the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth, live from San Mateo!

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Filament Friday: PLAyPHAb

A look at PLAy/PHAb, 3D Print Life's PLA/PHA variant.

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The Evezor Robot Arm Is an Open Source Artist, Bartender, and More

The Evezor open source robotic arm just went live on Kickstarter. This SCARA style arm has a nearly 3 foot reach.

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This 3D Printed Mass Effect Prop Folds Up Just Like in the Game

This 3D printed prop of the M3 pistol from the Mass Effect franchise is stunning. It is built to fold up just like in the video game.

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The Setup and Certification Costs of Mass Manufacturing Your Hardware Product

Scaling from prototype to mass manufacturing is often an overlooked step when launching a new hardware product, but it is so important.

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Thursday 18 May 2017

Wild Wheels of Maker Faire Bay Area

Makers in motion!

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The Good People of Maker Faire Austin 2017

It could be the town vibe, but it's got to also be the Faire leadership.

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Edible Innovations: Ramen Hero Offers Millennials New, Healthy Tastes

Hiro Hasegawa, an evangelist of ramen culture, founded Ramen Hero to enable anyone who wants to make high-quality, home-made ramen.

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“Controlled Accidents” at the New School’s List Library

This post originally appeared on the LAIP in May 2016.

Today we hear about an exhibition by Isabella Brandalise and Nelesi Rodriguez, Controlled Accidents, which is currently on at the New School’s List Library. Through their work they explore the interplay between act and instrument as investigated by French critic and essayist Roland Barthes. Enjoy! ~Laura

Exhibition Title: Controlled Accidents
Year: 2015
Creators: Isabella Brandalise and Nelesi Rodriguez
Description: With Roland Barthes‘ centennial as an excuse, we decided to honor his life and work by exploring his fixation with writing instruments and processes. Two months of research led us to many fascinating details about Barthes’ writing and reading habits. An interview with him titled An Almost Obsessive Relation to Writing Instruments became our main source of information, but also extract interesting details from several of his books’ prefaces as well as his autobiography. The objects fabricated for Controlled Accidents are reproductions of some of Roland Barthes’ writing instruments, re-created out of our interpretation and revisitation of these sources. Additionally, this project explores the ways in which libraries can be activated in creative ways, generating new connections between visitors and the library collection.

“As always, history clearly shows us the way to understand that actions which are secularized and trivialized in our society, such as writing, are actually heavily charged with meaning.” Roland Barthes in An Almost Obsessive Relation to Writing Instruments

Learn more about the exhibition.

Isabella Brandalise is a designer within complex, emergent, and collaborative systems, such as spaces, language, narratives and human interaction. When working on a project, instead of focusing on disciplinary outcomes, she reframes questions, challenging given conditions and opening spaces for imagination. She is currently a student in the MFA Transdisciplinary Design program at Parsons School of Design. She comes from Brazil and enjoys books, postcards and sail boats.

Nelesi Rodriguez is a media educator, researcher, and practitioner. Most of her work focuses on identity, the body, and how concepts of both interact with digital technologies. She is also fascinated by discussions on public scholarship, archives, and art as media. She was born in Venezuela and is currently a student in the MA in Media Studies at The New School.

 


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Make a Simple Fidget Spinner with Zip Ties

The process for making this fidget spinner is quick and easy. You will have something to fidget with in no time.

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How to Make a Bottle Opening Fidget Spinner

This bottle opener fidget spinner concept can be accomplished with simple metalworking skills at a Tech Shop.

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Wednesday 17 May 2017

Celebrating Maker Faire Bay Area with Humble Bundle and Make: books

The new Humble Bundle of Make: ebooks has got you covered, whether your interests are drones, toy-making, cooking, or anything in-between.

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The MakeShift Challenge: Bomb in a Parking Garage

Do you have what it takes to avoid being blown up by a subterranean car park bomb?

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Review: Voltera V-One Makes Custom Homemade PCBs with Less Mess

The Voltera V-One minimizes the mess and makes DIY printed circuit board (PCB) production more accurate and automated.

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Exploring Public Art at the Forest Park Public Library

This post originally appeared on the LAIP in July 2015. It’s one of our favorite public art projects to take place at a library–just in time for outdoor activities! 

Today’s story (and project kit) comes to us from Elaine Luther, an artist whose work with libraries we’ve featured on the LAIP before, and Alicia Hammond, Community Engagement Librarian at the Forest Park Public Library in Illinois. Elaine and Alicia give us the scoop on the process of installation a major public art piece at a library. Enjoy! ~Laura

The finished EXPLORE installation at Forest Park Public Library. Photo by Elaine Luther.

The finished EXPLORE installation at Forest Park Public Library. Photo by Ralph Romero.

by Elaine Luther and Alicia Hammond

Interactive public art projects are risky, but they work like magic to bring people together, activate spaces and bring energy and excitement to the library!

As part of the Summer of Exploration Summer Program, the Forest Park Public Library’s Community Engagement Librarian Alicia Hammond enlisted artist Elaine Luther to create a very special interactive art installation.

Both of us are very inspired by the work of Chicago artist Matthew Hoffman whose “You Are Beautiful” installations are popping up all over the Chicagoland area and beyond.  These outdoor installations feature freestanding or fence mounted letters that spell out a phrase.  Elaine had experience creating installations including part of a “You Are Beautiful” installation as well as building the word “LOVE” for a Valentine’s Day themed gallery show.

We selected the term “EXPLORE” and found an open area on the library’s front lawn.  However, we didn’t just want to install art in front of the library.  We wanted to create an event that encouraged the community to have a hands on opportunity to get creative.  After Alicia secured permission from the Library Director, it was all systems go.

Elaine decided on creating four foot tall letters out of wooden boards.  The letter “O” was selected to be three dimensional to play off the exploration theme and create visual interest and variety. She concentrated on creating letters that would be able to weather rain, some wind and the humid heat of Chicago summers.

Letter being assembled. Photo by Elaine Luther.

Letter being assembled. Photo by Ralph Romero.

The color palette was selected to match the Summer of Exploration program’s marketing materials (designed by Yearbook Studios).

The day of the event brought a beautiful summer day. The letters were installed into the ground and we brought out a table with paint, brushes, water, and hand wipes.  The color palette remained simple with red, blue, and yellow paint in order to remain cohesive.

Letters installed. Photo by Elaine Luther.

Letters installed. Photo by Ralph Romero.

We weren’t out there long before people started showing up and painting.  We had about 15 people signed up for the event but were more than open to drop ins.  We invited anyone who walked by to pick up a paint brush and contribute.  The kids were more than happy to jump in but some of the adults took a little more convincing. Several told us there were too old to paint or were afraid to mess up our project. If an adult was hesitant, Elaine would encourage them to start small and make dots with a cotton swab. That worked. Anyone can make dots!  (Next time, we will bring smocks also to eliminate the fear of getting messy.)

Participants painting letters.

Participants painting letters. Photo by Ralph Romero.

Participants painting.

Participants painting letters. Photo by Ralph Romero.

Altogether about 30 people stopped by to paint. However, the reach of this event and piece of art is much more.  The installation will be out in front of the library for about two months.  We truly activated the space, it was so exciting! We even slowed traffic as drivers slowed down and rubber-necked! A few drivers honked and waved to show their approval. Neighbors who knew each other by sight but had never spoken before met and had conversations!

Below is the materials list, instructions for building the letters. Following that we have suggestions for variations, things we learned might do differently next time.

Below is the materials list and instructions for building the letters. We have also included variations and things we might do differently next time.

Materials for the building of the letters:

  • 9 boards – 1” x 8” by 8’ (Elaine chose 8’ boards because that’s the largest she could  fit in her car.) You can make all the letters to spell out “EXPLORE” (except the O) out of eight boards. Think about including one or two extra boards in case of errors.($64)
  • Wood glue
  • Screws
  • Electric drill
  • Screwdriver
  • 12 plastic strips for the “O”  from the Re-use store. ($6)
  • Drill bits to match the size of the pop rivets. Elaine used 1/8 and 3/16 drill bits and pop rivets
  • Pop rivets ($10.14)
  • Pop rivet tool (about $2o)
  • Exterior primer and paint.  Elaine used exterior oil based primer* which cannot be used indoors and may have been overkill.
  • Colored exterior latex. (4 quarts of paint x $16.68 each with leftovers.)
  • Plus one gallon of paint donated by the artist.
  • Garden stakes, we used steel stakes, 4’ and 5’ ones (8 x $4.99, 1 x $5.99)
  • Zip ties (for the letter O) (11.99, with leftovers)
  • Screws and washers (insignificant cost, we used what we had on hand in the basement)

Supplies for the day of:

  • lots of baby wipes for cleaning patron’s hands
  • plastic cups to pour paint into
  • a bucket of rinse water
  • paper towels
  • bottled water for patrons, esp. if it’s a hot day ($4.99 for a case)
  • paintbrushes ($0.69 each x 12)
  • table to hold paint and supplies, covered with a plastic drop cloth
  • cotton swabs for detail work and because they are less intimidating than paint brushes
  • trash can

*oil based primer can be used under latex paint and increases the water resistance and longevity of the paint job. It also makes the top coat of paint glide on smoothly. It’s recommended if possible, but is not totally required.

Variations

You could use the words for a summer reading theme, a 100th anniversary, or to highlight a new product or service at the library. For example, the Forest Park Library has wifi hot spots, they could have 4’ letters outside saying, “CHECK OUT THE INTERNET.”

Instead of painting the letters with a color, they could be painted with chalkboard paint and patrons would be invited to answer a question in chalk. The question could be made out of 4’ letters, or it could be on a nearby sandwich board.

Notes on construction

For this project, Elaine learned to use a table saw and built the letters by assembling them with wood glue and screws. While it’s very straight forward for the E and L, it was a little tricky to to figure out the angles and method of construction for the P and R.

If you aren’t able to find an artist to run the entire event, the library could break up the project and have a woodworker build the letters and an artist choose the paint colors and run the workshop.

Another option is to have the letters custom cut using a CNC router. Creating the letters was extremely time intensive and took multiple trips to the hardware store. The additional cost of CNC routing may be off-set by a reduced wood cost, as a less expensive type of wood (plywood) may be able to be used. Another benefit of CNC routing is that it could be used to draw in additional populations at the library. For instance, teens could be invited to create the digital files (perhaps using Inkscape, a free, open source program) for the letters.

A related workshop could be held where teens use a Silhouette Cameo to make vinyl cut letters to decorate an indoor section of the library (I believe the Silhouette company makes some low tack material for applying removable decorations to walls and cabinets). This would extend the project and theme to the inside and outside of the library and generate buy-in for the program with teens.

Here are some close-up photos showing the installation method.

Further reading:



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Tuesday 16 May 2017

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Curious and Curiouser: The Challenges and Benefits of a Two-Year Exhibition

by Rebecca Hopman

Last month I wrote about the Rakow Research Library’s new exhibition, Curious and Curiouser: Surprising Finds from the Rakow Library. Curious will be open for 22 months, almost a year longer than past Library exhibitions. The longer length offers its own challenges and benefits.

Challenges

Many of you may be able to guess our biggest challenge: the recommended display period for most paper and photographic materials is three to six months. How, then, can you have a 22-month-long exhibition, especially if you want to display originals? Our solution was to rotate materials every three months. So, while our stories will remain the same for the duration of the exhibition, most cases will have new items seven times throughout the show.

We took snapshots of each rotation while working on case layouts. These photos show you the mockups of the three main layouts for our Greg Merkel/Frederick Carder case (more on that in the first blog). This is the mockup of the first layout, rotations 1-2.

Here is what the case looks like now, in rotation 1.

This decision meant selecting close to 250 items for display, around 220 of which come from the Library’s collection (the rest are glass objects from the Museum’s collection). Two factors allowed us to stop at 250.

First, we decided to use facsimiles to replace several original documents after three to six months. Second, our conservator determined that many of the exhibited books could remain on display as long as we turn their pages every three months.

Finding the number of necessary items was a challenge in itself, especially since we were focusing on the odd or curious in our collection – areas where we might only have a few items that fit the bill. The number of items, in turn, multiplied the rest of our exhibition work, including cataloging, digitization, conservation, label writing, production of graphics and facsimiles, and just general management of the materials. Every three months, a team of Museum preparators and our Associate Librarian for Collections Management will go through the exhibition and make changes, including rotating in new items or facsimiles, turning pages, and changing labels for any cases with new materials.

Benefits

While putting Curious and Curiouser together presented a unique set of challenges, it also comes with benefits. Guests can visit this exhibition seven times and see something new each time. The Library is free and open to the public, so we’re hoping visitors – especially locals – come back more than once. The changing nature of the show allows us to pitch it to local media several times, and also gives us more than one opportunity to leverage relevant holidays or seasons in our marketing (e.g. – featuring our patent for preserving the dead in glass and glass coffin trade catalogs for Halloween 2017, and our glass reliquaries in 2018).

“Method of preserving the dead,” (US748284-0) J. Karwowski, Washington, D.C.: United States Patent Office, 1903. CMGL 166896.

Glass casket catalog, American Glass Casket Company, Ada, OK: American Glass Casket Company, [n.d., 1921?]. CMGL 130378, gift of American Cut Glass Association.

Reliquary Beaker (Krautstrunk), Southern Germany or Austria, Tyrol, 1475-1525. 70.3.23

Richard Posner Marbles in Birdcage Reliquary, Richard Marquis, United States, Whidbey Island, WA, 2011. 2012.4.83

This exhibition also gives us a great opportunity to talk about preservation best practices in social media, blogs, media coverage, on tours, during programming, and in many other ways. We plan to highlight this aspect of the exhibition in order to explain to visitors how fragile paper and photographs can be. Our rotation schedule lets us display those items while limiting any long-term damage that might occur with less rigorous restrictions.

Guests can visit this exhibition seven times and see something new each time.

I’ll be interested to see how the next 21 months play out. Will the exhibition draw repeat guests and media coverage? Will it put too much pressure on our collection and staff? Will it raise awareness of the Rakow Library? The exhibition team will get together soon to reflect on the planning and implementation process, but hopefully we’ll also have a chance to meet again in February 2019 to reflect on the exhibition as a whole. In the meantime, I hope you’ll have a chance to come see Curious and Curiouser for yourselves!

Curious? Learn more about the exhibition by reading the monthly posts published on the CMoG blog and the LAIP blog, and follow us on social media at @corningmuseum.

 

This post is shared here with permission from the CMOG and the Rakow Research Library. 

 

profilepic_hopmanRebecca Hopman is the Outreach Librarian at The Rakow Research Library of The Corning Museum of Glass. She has worked in a number of libraries and archives since 2005 and received her MLS from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2012. When she’s not at the library, you might find her embroidering, writing snail mail, or cheering on the Chicago Cubs. Follow her on tumblrextabulis.tumblr.com.



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