In Intro to Craft class we had the privilege of touring the Charleston Library Society facility on King Street. The library society is one of the oldest cultural institutions in the country, where a group of intellectual elites in the mid-1700s began purchasing books from England, shipping them to Charleston, and trading amongst themselves. Today, the Library Society continues to function as a private library, hosting events and providing access to archives dating back to the 1500s.
On Monday, we toured the facility, seeing some original Jane Austen novels, old architectural prints, and their conservation studio. As a lover of books, I had so much fun seeing the old collections and the beautiful hand drawings and calligraphy on the pages.
For Intro to Craft, we will be using the new CNC machine to fabricate “Little Free Libraries” for their Book Drop program. The Library Society is setting up these book drop locations at doctors offices, day cares, etc. in low income areas, to allow underprivileged families access to books. We are to design a small case that protects the books and acts like a retail display, that can be manufactured and assembled easily as needed for the growth of their program. Using the CNC, we are also going to design specific joinery methods that require little or no fasteners, affording simpler transportation and assembly.
I am excited to learn new methods of fabrication on the CNC, and to design for one of my favorite things – books!
