The Artist's Library: A Field Guide

Creativity, like information, is free to everyone who steps into a library. The Artist's Library offers the idea that an artist is any person who uses creative tools to make new things, and the guidance and resources to make libraries of all sizes and shapes come alive as spaces for art-making and cultural engagement. Case studies included in the book range from the crafty (pop-up books) to the community-minded (library galleries) to documentary (photo projects) to the technically complex (listening to libraries via Dewey decimal frequencies).

The Library as Incubator Project was created by Erinn Batykefer, Laura Damon-Moore, and Christina Endres. It highlights the ways that libraries and artists can work together, and works to strengthen these partnerships. By calling attention to one of the many reasons libraries are important to our communities and our culture, it provides a dynamic online forum for sharing ideas.

Erinn Batykefer is a librarian, a writer, and a lifelong do-it-yourselfer. She earned an MFA in writing and a Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her first poetry collection, Allegheny, Monongahela, won the Benjamin Saltman Poetry Prize.

Laura Damon-Moore is a librarian, blogger, and avid art-maker in her spare time. Laura received her master's degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012.

Jessica Pigza is the assistant curator in the New York Public Library's Rare Book Division. She also writes on handmade material culture, DIY, and handicrafts at Hand-Made Librarian.


Author: Erinn Batykefer, Laura Damon-Moore
Publisher: Coffee House Press
Published: 05/13/2014
Pages: 220
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 7.10h x 5.20w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781566893534


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 04/01/2014 pg. 103
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2014
Publishers Weekly 05/05/2014

About the Author
Erinn Batykefer is a librarian, a writer, and a lifelong do-it-yourselfer. She's worked in libraries almost constantly since she was fifteen--both as a staffer and as a writer scribbling away at the back of the 811s. She earned an MFA in Writing and a Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her first poetry collection, Allegheny, Monongahela (Red Hen Press 2009) won the Benjamin Saltman Poetry Prize.

Laura Damon-Moore is a librarian, blogger, and avid art-maker in her spare time. Laura received her master's degree in Library & Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012 and graduated from Beloit College with a double major in Literary Studies and Theatre Arts (Acting) in 2008. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband James and her chinchilla Barnaby Jones.