Booklyn Education Manual
Reading a book educates. Making a book is an education.
We make books to make change. We make books to be joyful. We make books to make our voices heard. In this ever-evolving education manual, we’ve combined bookmaking experiences and techniques from the world over that do all of these things. The Booklyn Education Manual is a combination of instruction sheets, lesson plans, and resources to introduce you to bookmaking or to complement the bookmaking you already do.
Through the development of skills such as verbal and visual storytelling, problem-solving, original thinking, and hand-eye coordination, bookmaking promotes literacy, creativity, self-expression, and self-esteem. As a medium and a message, bookmaking encourages the development of the voice, the ability to articulate it, and the means to make it heard. Booklyn’s education program aims to provide the basic background, skills and techniques for learners of all ages and experience levels to express their ideas and manufacture their own media while creating a space for the mutual exchange of information and experiences.
This book is part of the public domain (anti-copyrighted or copy-left). It is our hope that the manual will be photocopied for classroom use and further free distribution. The manual is available as a free PDF download on the Booklyn website. We encourage you to use and share this manual with the spirit of generosity and solidarity in which it was first produced.
The Booklyn Education Manual is a collective and evolving effort. Thus far, the following people have contributed to the Booklyn Education Manual: Eric Adolfsen, Rebecca Alvarez, Natalie Campbell, Trish Clark, Ondine Crispin, Lauren Demille, Issac Diggs, Yassira Diggs, Bridget Elmer, Amy P. Ferrara, Alison Forbes, Stefanie Fox, Cathy Hsiao, Monica Johnson, Shannon Kelly, Emily Larned, Heather McCabe, Amy Mees, James Mitchell, Jamie Munkatchy, Lionel Ouellette, Sara Parkel, Eliana Perez, Sara Rabinowitz, Doug Rice, Kalmia Strong, Mark Wagner, Eleanor Whitney, Trudy Williams, and Sharon Zeller.
The first edition of this education manual was originally sponsored in part by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc. (BAC)
The 2021 edition was made possible in part by funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council
Booklyn’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.