Grants Bring Great Artwork Prints To Local Libraries

The libraries at Bartlett and Streamwood altitudinous schools recently admitted 40 laminated prints of famous American works of art buttoned up the Picturing America Grant, funded by the American Library Association and the State Endowment for the Humanities.

Works depicted build in paintings of Paul Revere by John Singleton Copley and Grant Wood, engravings by John James Audubon, photographs by Alexander Gardner and Dorothea Lange, and depictions of pottery, baskets, sterling silver and delineation.

Although the prints are cloaked hide alpine-standard laminate, the entire carton surprised staff at both schools being the prints came two-sided-- therefore alone totaling 20 actual pieces.

Further complicating matters was the truth that about 12 pieces had vertical break on one side and aligned break on the other, posing problems on how to affectation them.

" We had grand designs of putting them over our bookcases, but being of the alteration influence break, we boundness't, " spoken Bartlett librarian Colette Leeser-Freeman.

Bartlett intends to suspend seven of the vertically oriented posters over a set of low bookcases therefore that students will act for able to behold both sides. The rest will act for mounted on cork strips on walls adumbrate exclusive one side visible. Leeser-Freeman plans to posses the artworks mounted by the butt end of the bit.

At Streamwood, librarian Jill Kasper chose to arrangement 15 of the laminated posters on bulletin boards influence the library.

" Along hide the art posters we also scanned book covers of both fiction and non-fiction titles that covered the same time period or place, " Kasper said.

Accompanying the laminated prints is a teacher resource manual that gives background on each piece, as well as appropriate suggested activities for elementary, middle-school and high-school levels. The possibilities go beyond use in art classes.

Bartlett social studies instructor Jim Fash, who helped Leeser-Freeman write the grant along with career specialist Mary Van Slyck, foresees using the posters to spur discussion in his classes.

Similar activities are expected to occur at Streamwood.

" We've already had a teacher use the resource manual to plan a writing-prompt lesson for her English classes, " Kasper said.

Assistant librarian Laura Collila helped Kasper write the grant for Streamwood.

February 25, 2008