Creating with Context: Make Your Own Bookplate

Creating with Context: Make Your Own Bookplate is coming to the Text & conText Lab at Hillman Library on Tuesday, November 10, from 4 PM to 5:30 PM. It's a workshop for anyone who likes to write their name in their own books, and it's free to attend.

The session starts with the history of ex libris, or bookplates — those printed labels with a design meant to mark ownership, usually pasted inside a book's front cover. You'll get a look at why they hold such surprising value in the library world, and you'll browse examples drawn from Archives & Special Collections at the University of Pittsburgh Library System. Once you've had a chance to see how they've been used over the years, the group moves into the Text & conText Lab to make their own.

That's the hands-on part: you'll create your own bookplate to take home, and you'll also make stickers for a laptop or e-reader. No previous experience is needed, and all the materials are provided, so you just have to show up. The session is facilitated by Anaïs Grateau and Megan Massanelli of the University Library System.

It all happens at the Text & conText Lab, room 310 in Hillman Library, 3960 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. The workshop runs from 4 PM to 5:30 PM on Tuesday, November 10, and it's free.