Cheap Copies:The Rise of the Amateur Printing, Fanzines and the “Mimeograph Revolution” Olson Graduate Rich Dana leads this discussion of "cheap copies" and the development of similar visual languages in Science Fiction fandom and the Avant-garde.

"Around the Library Table: An Evening with Luther Brewer and Leigh Hunt*" Join us for an evening around the library table with the University of Iowa’s Brewer-Leigh Hunt Collection and Olson Graduate Assistant Laura Michelson. Learn more about Luther Brewer, the Cedar Rapids printer who collected Huntiana in the 1920s and Leigh Hunt, the Romantic era English writer and critic best known as a friend to “the famous.” Through this essential collection—one of the most complete of a single...

We will be hosting a virtual celebration for the MFA graduating class of 2020. More information coming soon! Please see thesis work from all of our Spring 2020 graduates here: https://book.grad.uiowa.edu/MFA_Show_2020

Online Gallery coming soon!

Online Gallery Coming Soon!

Online Gallery Coming Soon!

Overdue: A Curated Look at Artists' Books It can be hard to browse or stumble across new artists' books in Special Collections, given the security of the closed stacks. That's why we are bringing out some of our favorites for you to enjoy! Join us for an evening of browsing and handling some of the treasures from deep in our collections. All are encouraged to come to this open house.  If you are a person with a disability who requires accommodation in order to participate, please contact...

Joshua Calhoun Losing the Past: Cultural Heritage, Climate Change, and Catastrophe Fueled by fossils, museums and archival libraries more or less refrigerate cultural records against the threat of decay—for now. But what is the longterm future of cultural records in the face of accelerating climate change? Original copies of Shakespeare’s Sonnets, first printed in 1609, have survived intact for over 400 years. If even the most optimistic climate models are to be believed, copies of the Sonnets...

CANCELLED Check out how Japanese artists used multiple woodblocks to make color prints. See the blocks and the resulting print. This event will be led by Assistant Registrar Sarah Luko, who is a practicing artist and holds an MFA from the UI Center for the Book. Saturdays at the Stanley brings the museum’s collection to audiences in a casual, fun, and interactive atmosphere. Each event has a theme that looks at our artwork from a different perspective. Curators lead visitors through a...

Please join Katharine DeLamater for a closing reception Friday, March 13th from 5-7pm.

Experimental Archaeology

Elizabeth Yale is a historian of science and the book in the early modern world. She received her PhD in the history of science from Harvard University in 2008. She has previously taught at Harvard and Western Carolina University. She joined the History Department at the University of Iowa in 2017. Yale is the author of Sociable Knowledge: Natural History and the Nation in Early Modern Britain (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016). She is currently working on a project tracing the afterlives...

Experienced, aspiring, and amateur artists alike: this summer, make our museums your muse. Join us in one of our magical gallery spaces after-hours with other artists in your community. Our collections make excellent subjects for sketching because they're always perfectly still! Oh, and did we mention air conditioning...summer in Iowa, right?  This program is designed for adult participants but everyone is welcome!  Admission is free. Advanced registration not required. Tuesday, February...

MFA Thesis Exhibition by Krista Narciso Join UICB MFA candidate Krista Narciso for her thesis show. The installation is a meditation on landscape and an inquiry into the concept of a ‘remnant’ in the natural world, inspired by her visits to local prairie remnants and conservatories. Guests are invited to explore the immersive, yet impenetrable space created by the work. A reception will be held Friday, February 21st from 5-7pm. Tea and light refreshments will be served.

MFA Thesis Exhibition by Katerina Hazell Join artist Katerina Hazell for her MFA thesis show. Sculptural books, handmade paper, prints and drawings explore language as a constructed space. During the reception guests can handle interactive pieces and view a pop-up library of books that inspired the work. A reception will take place February 14th from 4:30 - 6:30pm.

The application deadline for Fall 2020 start for for all UICB Programs is February 1st, 2020. Information about admissions to each program can be found at the links below. UICB MFA program UICB Certificate UICB MFA and SLIS MA UICB Certificate and SLIS MA

Please join incoming UICB MFA's Keren Alfred, Kimberly McCarthy, and Madison Bennett for their opening reception this Friday evening. Their show will run until 1/31/2020.

The University of Iowa Center for the Book is hiring a papermaker. This is a 2-year, 50% Instructional Faculty Track position, in the MFA in Book Arts Program. In addition to teaching, the successful applicant will have access to the Paper Production Facility on the Oakdale Campus (pics here). Benefits, terrific students, excellent facilities, great town! Please share! See posting for details: https://book.grad.uiowa.edu/papermaking-faculty-search

Come tour our facilities, see recent work from faculty and students, and watch papermaking, letterpress printing and calligraphy demos, and enjoy some refreshments.Work from UICB Faculty will be on display in the K.K. Merker Gallery.  All are welcome!

Exhibits from UICB studio classes in lettering arts, papermaking, bookbinding, artist books, and letterpress printing will be on display. Work from UICB Faculty will be on display in the K.K. Merker Gallery. Ladies Typographic Union 2020 calendars will be available for purchase. $25 gets you a full year of beautiful prints! Food and drink will be served—all are welcome!

My Life with Paper* (A most rewarding ride, with only a few diversions) Join Tim Barrett, director of the UI Center for the Book and papermaking specialist, as he recounts his 47 year engagement in the craft, science, history and aesthetics of handmade paper. Tim will have paper specimens and a number of his favorite items from UI Special Collections on display. Questions and comments from the audience will be warmly encouraged. Event will be held at the Main Library in the Main Library...

My Life with Paper* (A most rewarding ride, with only a few diversions) Join Tim Barrett, director of the UI Center for the Book and papermaking specialist, as he recounts his 47 year engagement in the craft, science, history and aesthetics of handmade paper. Tim will have paper specimens and a number of his favorite items from UI Special Collections on display. Questions and comments from the audience will be warmly encouraged. Light refreshments will be served at 6:30pm, with the talk...

Join co-curators Julia Leonard and Kalmia Strong in the Main Library Gallery for a guided tour of Rising Together | Protest in Print, followed by treats and coffee! Learn how the exhibition was created, hear the hidden stories behind select pieces on display, and enjoy the many stunning artist books, zines, sculptural bookworks, protest signs and banners, and more presented in the gallery. These real protest pieces give activism a visual voice, and comment on politics, power, war, immigration...

Visiting Artist Amos Paul Kennedy will be outside the Main Library Gallery on Friday, November 8 hand-printing posters from wood type. Participants and passersby will be invited to design background patterns or letters, which they will then have the opportunity to print. Text composed by Amos will be printed on top, after which participants will be able to take the posters home. More about Amos Kennedy: Amos is a descendant of the enslaved peoples of "theunitedstatesofamerica." At 40 years of...

Visiting Artist Amos Paul Kennedy will be outside the Main Library Gallery on Friday, November 8 hand-printing posters from wood type. Participants and passersby will be invited to design background patterns or letters, which they will then have the opportunity to print. Text composed by Amos will be printed on top, after which participants will be able to take the posters home. More about Amos Kennedy: Amos is a descendant of the enslaved peoples of "theunitedstatesofamerica." At 40 years of...

Experienced, aspiring, and amateur artists alike: this summer, make our museums your muse. Be sure to join us for the next Sketch Nite as we welcome a very special guest guide! Our Sketch Nite events are usually a self-guided experience through our galleries after hours, but the next one will feature artist Claire Whitehurst. Claire is planning to bring in a couple of preliminary drawings to show for practice, and then perform a short demonstration explaining the process of building up a...

Print Workshop For more information and to sign up contact julia-leonard@uiowa.edu

Visiting artist Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr is a descendant of the enslaved peoples of the United States of America . After 40 years of age, Kennedy embraced his humanity and abandoned the commercial dream that defines this civilization. Unsatisfied with the illusion of a comfortable, middle-class life, Amos traded in his computer for a printing press and his white collar for overalls. The subject of the Brown Finch Films documentary “Proceed and Be Bold”, his letterpress work raises emotionally...

It’s time to have adjunct administrators and other strange thoughts from Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. Visiting artist Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr is a descendant of the enslaved peoples of the United States of America . After 40 years of age, Kennedy embraced his humanity and abandoned the commercial dream that defines this civilization. Unsatisfied with the illusion of a comfortable, middle-class life, Amos traded in his computer for a printing press and his white collar for overalls. The subject of the...

 It’s time to have adjunct administrators and other strange thoughts from Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. Visiting artist Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr is a descendant of the enslaved peoples of the United States of America . After 40 years of age, Kennedy embraced his humanity and abandoned the commercial dream that defines this civilization. Unsatisfied with the illusion of a comfortable, middle-class life, Amos traded in his computer for a printing press and his white collar for overalls. The subject of the...

The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History presents: Walking Tours! Get in those steps and take in the sights with this brand new program designed to give special insight into some treasured history of our campus and community. There's no place like Iowa City in the Fall. Let's take a stroll... Behind-the-Scenes Collections Tour at the Museum of Natural History Monday, October 3  Lead by Cindy Opitz: Director of Research Collections for the UI Pentacrest Museums Embark on...

José Guadalupe Posada used skulls, bones, and skeletons in his prints to critique the Mexican government and society. Although the imagery carried political message, it has become popular in decorations for Día de meurtos [Day of the Dead] in Mexico, celebrated from October 31 to November 2. Look at examples of Posada’s work and learn about his socially conscious art in anticipation of the Mexican holiday. Preparator Alexandra Janezic (MFA, UI Center for the Book) will lead a discussion about...

Andrew David King (Provost's Visiting Writer and Visiting Assistant Professor in English & Creative Writing) and Amy Childress (MFA candidate at the University of Iowa Center for the Book and MA candidate at the School of Library and Information Sciences) are excited to announce a new, biannual reading series that marks the beginning of a formal collaboration of the Writers' Workshop and the Center for the Book. The series is called Diptych: A Book Artists' & Writers' Reading Series. The first...

The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History presents: Walking Tours! Get in those steps and take in the sights with this brand new program designed to give special insight into some treasured history of our campus and community. There's no place like Iowa City in the Fall. Let's take a stroll... Behind-the-Scenes Collections Tour at the Museum of Natural History Monday, October 3  Lead by Cindy Opitz: Director of Research Collections for the UI Pentacrest Museums Embark on...

Paper artists and 2nd year MFA students, María Carolina Ceballosand Joko Viruet's will be hosting a reception for their show “Sancocho” Friday night at the KK Merker Gallery. Their show will be up until the 18th.

The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History presents: Walking Tours! Get in those steps and take in the sights with this brand new program designed to give special insight into some treasured history of our campus and community. There's no place like Iowa City in the Fall. Let's take a stroll... Behind-the-Scenes Collections Tour at the Museum of Natural History Monday, October 3  Lead by Cindy Opitz: Director of Research Collections for the UI Pentacrest Museums Embark on...

​Join Kalmia Strong and Julie Leonard, co-curators of Rising Together | Protest in Print, for a free zine-making workshop. This event is open to students, staff, faculty, and the general public. Learn a simple folded zine structure, make (write, draw, collage) and multiply  your own zine, and/or just read some zines from the lowercase library collection. All materials, including typewriters and copying equipment old and new, will be provided. ​Drop in any time between 1:00pm and 4:00pm. ​After...

The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History presents: Walking Tours! Get in those steps and take in the sights with this brand new program designed to give special insight into some treasured history of our campus and community. There's no place like Iowa City in the Fall. Let's take a stroll... Behind-the-Scenes Collections Tour at the Museum of Natural History Monday, October 3  Lead by Cindy Opitz: Director of Research Collections for the UI Pentacrest Museums Embark on...

The 6th Annual William Anthony Conservation Lecture Evidence in Old Books: Identification, Interpretation, and Preservation Maria Fredericks Maria Fredericks is the Sherman Fairchild Head of Conservation in the Morgan Library’s Thaw Conservation Center, where she was also the Drue Heinz Book Conservator from 2005-2018. She has held book conservation positions at Columbia University Libraries, the Huntington Library, the Winterthur Library, the Conservation Center for Art and Historic...

Evidence in Old Books: Identification, Interpretation and Preservation  Maria Fredericks is the Sherman Fairchild Head of Conservation in the Morgan Library’s Thaw Conservation Center, where she was also the Drue Heinz Book Conservator from 2005-2018. She has held book conservation positions at Columbia University Libraries, the Huntington Library, the Winterthur Library, the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, and the Library of Congress and has taught at the NYU conservation...

Protest in Print Gallery Talk with Curators Kalmia Strong and Julie Leonard ​Learn more about this recently-opened exhibition in the Main Library Gallery, curated by Julie Leonard, professor in the University of Iowa Center for the Book, and Kalmia Strong, adjunct faculty in the University of Iowa Center for the Book and the program director at Public Space One. Rising Together | Protest in Print features artist books, prints, and zines with social justice themes drawn from the University of...

The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History presents: Walking Tours! Get in those steps and take in the sights with this brand new program designed to give special insight into some treasured history of our campus and community. There's no place like Iowa City in the Fall. Let's take a stroll... Behind-the-Scenes Collections Tour at the Museum of Natural History Monday, October 3  Lead by Cindy Opitz: Director of Research Collections for the UI Pentacrest Museums Embark on...