When the Print Studio in the John M. Kelly Library re-opens later this month, it will offer students an opportunity to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty as they learn about moveable type and the process of printing.
The hands-on experience is designed to lend students an enhanced appreciation for the thought that goes into creating all manner of printed materials, with discussions on design theory, print structures, book history, and our personal engagement with the tangible.
While we live in an era where digital books and printing is everywhere, the printed word remains a powerful touchstone to everything from emotions to a sense of history, says James Roussain, the interim William D. Sharpe Chief Librarian at the John M. Kelly Library. Think of an inscription in a book from a deceased loved one, the magazine with a cover noting a significant moment in history, filed away for posterity, or the joy of perusing shelves in a bookstore. Books and other types of printed materials, like posters or ephemera, he adds, are even used to decorate, a powerful indicator of what a person values and sees as esthetically pleasing.
The re-launch represents the fruition of years of planning for, and dreaming about, a space where experiential learning can help students understand the power and importance of the printed word. The original studio opened in 2002, but was closed in recent years, awaiting repairs and renovations. Over those years, the studio published three chapbooks, small pamphlet–stitched booklets.
“The pieces have come together for a better integrated program, with a more welcoming space,” says Roussain. “We have created a comfortable environment for students, with better ventilation and more space for printing demonstrations or student engagement. Recent renovations have doubled the footprint of the studio and bumped up the number of seats to 24.”
Working in the studio, students will have the opportunity to design layouts and set type, choose inks and papers, and print using the library’s collection of 19th-century printing presses. Future courses will also teach students how to bind books using traditional and modern methods. “We want students to explore the incredible variety of crafts that together make up the book arts,” says Roussain.
The Print Studio builds on the Kelly Library’s collections of rare book and archival materials. Not only can students see and handle examples of printing from its earliest days, they can also learn and sample methods of production, quickly discovering the complexities of the art and its impact on our lives.
The studio, located on the second floor of Kelly in Rm. 233, houses a variety of 19th- and 20th-century printing presses. Surrounding the presses are type cases– wooden drawers full of metal type, painstakingly set in the presses by hand, while shelves ringing the room are loaded with ink and the various other items needed to bring the presses to life.
Roussain says there are many people to thank for the improved studio space, from the Friends of the Kelly Library, who donated $18,000 towards the renovations, through to the energy and vision of St. Michael’s Principal Irene Morra, who has worked to create new links between the studio and course offerings available in the Book and Media Studies program.
The studio re-launch takes place on Thursday, March 21 at 6 p.m., beginning with a lecture in Room 105 of Kelly Library offered by Victoria University Principal Angela Esterhammer and titled “Stranger than Fiction: Scottish Emigrants and Print Culture in the 1820s.” A reception will follow, and then a demonstration in the Print Studio, led by Kit MacNeil, who teaches a course in St Michael’s Book & Media Studies program and serves as Master Printer at the University of Toronto’s Massey College. All are welcome to attend.