Book Crafting Makerstation

Project Overview

The library in which I did secondary level fieldwork had established several makerstations for students to engage in independent, experiential learning, including puzzles, Legos, and a knitting basket. All stations had to be low-cost and fairly self-sustaining. I proposed and implemented a book crafting station which made use of the sizable quantity of old books that the librarian had weeded from the school library’s collection.

Download: Book Crafting Project Plan [PDF]

I drew project ideas from a Book Recycling Pinterest board that I have compiled over the past couple of years. I wanted the instructions for my featured projects to be clear, so I created instructions sheets myself, complete with process pictures that I snapped while creating examples of each craft. I set up a station in an empty bookshelf with the instructions and supplies.

Students began innovating and making the crafts their own almost at once. Ripping apart the books to prepare more raw materials seemed to hold particular appeal for them.

The initial station was stocked with three crafts (instruction sheets available for download below), as well as a few books on paper sculpture that the library had in its collection. There is a lot of room for this station to grow and for students to make up their own crafts.