This post was written by Courtney Berge, Archives and Exhibits Assistant at the University of Idaho Libraries Special Collections and Archives in Moscow, ID.
What happens when your library has the opportunity to create an exhibit featuring a large selection of artist books from some notable book artists? You embrace it and work to make it as impactful as possible. Over a year ago, faculty and staff at the University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives began discussing collaborating with a 
community member, Gary E. Strong, to install an exhibit featuring his private collection of artist books by Peter and Donna Thomas. The exhibit, A Book’s Nature: Artist Books by Peter and Donna Thomas, would not only display the beauty of the art, but also hone in on the book artists’ process and inspiration.
To begin this process, our Archivist and Exhibits Assistant went to meet with Strong and look at his book collection. During that meeting, photographs of each book were taken and notes were taken on book size and structure. We all wanted to be sure to use this collection to the best of our ability and highlight the creativity and beauty of the books. Thinking about what the exhibit would focus on, we ultimately decided that the most interesting aspects of these books came down to creative representation of content, unique structure, and use of material.
Thinking about the content, structure, and material of the collection we decided to focus on nature. Peter and Donna Thomas often use nature as the subject and representation of their works by creating books around quotes relating to the American West from authors such as John Muir, William Everson, and Everett Reuss. We thought focusing on the nature represented in their work and the nature of a book itself would be a great way to draw people into the idea of artist books. With this in mind, the selected books featured passages from such writers and focused on natural areas like the John Muir Trail, as well as papermaking practices and history. Our collaborator also suggested certain works that highlighted the unique structures the Thomases use in their book making, which were gladly incorporated.
Throughout the exhibit, we also incorporated several plans to increase and measure engagement. The first of these included the addition of a guest book with a prompt asking “Tell Us What You Think… What Inspires Your Art?” Since its installation, a 
plethora of responses have been written in the book, ranging from kindness to mountains to the connection of word and image. Those who have responded have done so in multiple languages and some have even drawn images to represent their answers.
Also included with the exhibit were a series of flyers highlighting content and areas of interest represented in the collection. These were created when Strong expressed a wish for a list of topics represented in the Thomas’ work to be displayed, so that visitors would be able to be inspired and delve deeper into those subjects. We created three small flyers and spread them throughout the exhibit, so patrons could take them if they wished. Each represented a different topic: the authors that the Thomases took inspiration from when creating their books, natural areas that are either represented in the books or local areas for patrons to explore for their own inspiration, and general paper- and book-making. To try and help people further we included signs suggesting talking to librarians to help find books and other related materials. The inclusion of these flyers has been popular with patrons. Flyers from each topic area have been taken and we have had to refill those regarding natural areas.
Beyond these methods we have been using our social media platforms to promote the exhibit and offer a more in depth interpretation. There are certain limitations with book displays, most prominently the ability to only display one or two pages of a book at a time. To expand on the exhibit we created a Tumblr series called Inside the Cover. Bi-weekly, our Tumblr posts feature one of the books on display. The post includes multiple images from inside the cover, along with interpretive text either on the Thomases, the authors they quoted and drew inspiration from, or the artistic means they used in making the book. These posts are also posted on the University of Idaho Library’s Twitter account.
The most exciting element of engagement for the exhibit was having the book artists come to campus. Working with Strong, we were able to have the Thomases visit Moscow, ID during the second week of October. While here they gave an artist talk about the history of papermaking, book arts, and their processes for creating artist books, all while displaying several of their more uniquely structured books and allowing attendees to touch and look at them. They also held a papermaking demonstration outside of the library with their gypsy caravan, their artistically renowned mode of travel. As students walked in and out of the library, they stopped to observe the process and learn how to make paper, some engaging in the process itself. As observers asked questions about different types of papers and how they create paper, Peter and Donna responded by showing where in their books certain processes took place and where they found inspiration when making paper for their books.
The University of Idaho Library does not normally host exhibits with materials other than those found in our collections, or those of a traveling exhibit. Through this experience, however, we realized the many opportunities that our own community may hold, and the importance of building those relationships to collaborate on future projects.
Northwest Archivists 