Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Creative Signage

First of all, I have to say that librarians are creative, forward-thinking, and imaginative.  This is the case for Sofia D'Arcy, a middle school librarian from  Houston ISD.  She created signage from old weeded books...so for those of us wanting signage but not wanting to spend a lot of cash, there is a solution thanks to brilliant minds in the library world!
And she also provided instructions as well:
• I traced the letters on the back of the book (hint: be sure to keep at least part of the binding intact as in the “o” and the “c”)


• I cut them out using a jigsaw, but I’ve since added a scroll saw to the mix. I used a drill to get to the middle sections. I sanded the rough edges. If you decide to use a Dremel or other rotary device be aware that since it spins really fast you can burn the edges if you aren’t careful. I used a Black and Decker Mouse.

• After I made the shelf from two pieces of pine, I placed the letters and marked where I wanted the braces to go. I screwed those in and glued the letters to the braces. I screwed three picture hanger things to it to hang. If you are interested in seeing the back, just let me know and I’ll take a picture to send to you.

• Two things to consider: thinner books are easier to cut and take a look at the book without the cover.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Each letter took me no more than 30 minutes to make. The wood and other materials cost less than $40. Overall, one of the best ideas I've come up with for my library. Naomi, I hope lots of your readers will discover they, too, can have creative signage!

Sofia D'arcy

Naomi said...

I also tweeted it, and it's been making the rounds...this is a fantastic idea!

Alia parker said...

These library signage are looking so cool. When i was in my college i use to look these signage. Hahaha i just love these signage signs so much.