Book Arts Lab

While Clapp Library is being renovated, the Book Arts Lab is temporarily located in Green Hall 153. Open lab hours are held from 1:00-3:00 pm on Wednesdays when classes are in session. Full semester classes are offered through the Studio Art and Writing Programs. To learn more about how to get involved, email Katherine M. Ruffin, Director of the Book Studies Program and Lecturer in Art at kruffin@wellesley.edu. The Book Arts Laboratory at Wellesley College connects historical scholarship and creative studio work through hands-on study of the arts of the book. The Book Arts Lab is a unique, well-equipped studio for letterpress printing (relief printing from type, blocks, and plates with presses), and book binding (making book structures by hand using simple tools). Hand papermaking is taught in the Screen Print & Papermaking Studio in Pendleton West. Founded by Research Librarian Hannah French in Clapp Library in 1944, the Book Arts Laboratory hosts full-semester classes in the Studio Art Program and the Writing Program. In addition, the lab supports instruction sessions for visiting classes ranging from Classics to Comparative Literature to Computer Science and workshops for members of the college community. The lab is home to the Annis Press imprint and an archive of materials printed since the 1940s can be found in the college’s Special Collections. For more information, please also see: Book Studies