My friend and colleague Jane Carlin, former Library Director at Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound, just had an article published the recent issue (vol 85 no 5 (2024))of College & Research Libraries News (Association of College and Research Libraries). “The Power of Artists’ Books: Catalysts for Creative Thinking Across the Curriculum” looks at the impact of remote and hybrid experiences in education and ways to increase engagement through the use of primary source materials.
Students want and need to connect with one another and with course content in meaningful and innovative ways. Teaching and pedagogy literature abounds with examples looking for ways to engage students and create a sense of belonging.
Our advice is to advocate for the use of unique primary resources in the classroom. The use of primary source materials provides students with a hands-on, haptic experience, away from the screen or mobile electronic devices. When students work with primary sources, whether historical or contemporary, they make a connection with the artifact. In this article, we explore our use of one type of primary source material, artists’ books, as a tool for student engagement.
Artists’ books in the classroom – and really in any setting where people can engage with them – provide rich opportunities to explore artistic expression and commentary. We are called to engage kinesthetically in this art, and through the works of these artists, we are called to be active participants in the unfolding of their voices and messages. Just as these artists challenge our notion of art and book, they also challenge us to think in new ways about ourselves and our world.
https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/26335/34276