“We want to diversify, show the complexity, and to humanize Richmond” Mark Strandquist said.
“We want to diversify, show the complexity, and to humanize Richmond” Mark Strandquist said. Blending paper, binding books, building bookshelves, and creating call numbers has been keeping VCU graduates Mark Strandquist and Courtney Bowles busy. Now, with the grand opening of the People’s Library Project this Friday at the Richmond Public Library, much of that work has paid off.
The People’s Library Project entails re-purposing old books that were being thrown away, using them to create blank page books to be available at the Richmond Public Library. Richmonders are encouraged to write their personal histories in these books, with the hope to encourage social interaction, and help gain an understanding of each other and our city.
Planning for the project’s grand opening has been in motion for a few months. The original goal was to have 1,000 books for the library, but only 300 books will be available when the exhibit opens its doors.
The process of this project has taken the help of the Main Branch of the Richmond Public Library and individuals of all ages from the community assisting in various workshops. Paper making, folding the paper, sewing the pages together, screen-printing some of the pages, sewing signatures, and gluing book covers (covers of the old books) used to create the pages has been a time and labor intensive pracitce.
The People’s Library Project started with the concept of the history of Richmond and the city’s monuments centered on important figiures people read about in grade school history classes. But the projects organizes think Richmond’s diversity itself sets it apart from other cities. Everyone has a story, a personal history that is reflective of his or her life experiences in the river city.
The artists that come and created the monuments didn’t always have a connection to the community of Richmond. “There are many forms of public art, but this is a more challenging form of public art,” Strandquist said. “The project is only as good as the people that know about it.”
The bookshelves built are not just your typical linear bookshelf found in libraries either. These shelves are circular, to symbolize the historical monuments found around Richmond. This creates a parallel between the two – Richmond isn’t indicative of only history read in textbooks, but it’s diverse community and the history the people create.
The most challenging aspect of the project has been the call numbers and how to catalog the books. Each book will come with a card in the back that will allow the writer to include their name or to go anonymous, what they want the book to be associated with, etc. Also there a few prompts to help guide the narration of each book, some of the prompts are on memory that will never be forgotten, favorite childhood meal, and including a recipe if possible. The stories written can be fiction, nonfiction, photographs, and drawings, whatever the author decides to use to convey their story.
“I have lots of stories in my head, not sure which ones I will include, but definitely plan on writing my own,” Bowles said.
Like many complex projects, additional labor has been called in, and internship opportunities were created from the project. Partnering with Virginia Commonwealth University, the project provided a unique experience to many, allowing students to “be a People’s Librarian.” Interns lead workshops and had the chance to apply their field of study to the project by reaching out to the communities in their field of study. And the outreach didn’t just stop at those who could easily access the public library, one intern is reaching out to incarcerated individuals to encourage them to write their stories.
“…There are so many things that no one would ever see in the project, the random people that have come together…using blenders to blend the paper; making noise in a magnitude of ways was symbolic… it was a messy and a democratic experience. How do you end something like that is the biggest question?” Strandquist said.
Come out this Friday from 5-7pm and join Strandquist and Bowles, and the helpers of the Main Branch of the Richmond Public Library in the grand opening of the People’s Library Project located at 101 E. Franklin Street.
Refreshments and t-shirts will be provided.
