Artist Promotes Waukegan PL
with Huge Book Sculptures
Waukegan, Illinois, will soon boast some 40 giant wood-and-fiberglass books created by local artist Jim Harrington to promote the city’s public library. Inspired by Chicago’s “Cows on Parade” public sculptures, Harrington chose books instead of bovines to promote reading, according to the September 15 Chicago Tribune. “I want to put these all around downtown,” he said, “to remind people how important it is to keep learning through all the stages of life.”
Harrington told American Libraries that six of the five-foot-tall books have been completed so far, and he expects to have the rest done in time for next year’s National Library Week. For a $300 materials fee, sponsors can choose a favorite title to commemorate. According to spokesperson Elizabeth Stearns, the library still needs to choose an appropriate title for its own sculpture, though suggestions have ranged from Dr. Seuss to AACR2.
The artist is donating his time, which amounts to five days for one book, because he “wants to give back as much as he can to the community through the library.”
Posted September 20, 1999.
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