Libraries Releases Full-length #MovableMondays Video

Co-authored by Haadiza Ogwude

Although movable (pop-up) books are often regarded as a form of entertainment for children, they have a long and rich history that spans generations and genres.

“I think that some people would be surprised to know that the history of movable books goes back as far as it does…We are used to [seeing] pop-up books, so we do not necessarily think about how old the history might be and how many steps there were to creating a book that would actually ‘pop-up’ when you opened it. That’s an advancement that took a long time to develop,” said Miriam Intrator, special collections librarian.

The #MovableMondays video series that has been published on alternating Mondays beginning Jan. 14 is ending with today’s culmination of all eight videos, which were featured on the Libraries’ social media accounts: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Kicking off with the book “Astronomicum Caesareum” by Peter Apian, one of the oldest examples of a movable book contained in special collections, #MovableMondays was then followed by these books highlighted in videos:  “The Daily Express,” “Mariners Compass Rectified,” “A Series of Amusing Transformation Scenes,” “A Pop-up Field Guide to North American Wildflowers,” “Robinson Crusoe,” “Lay,Table Lay,” and “Welcome to the Neighborwood.”

This series was produced as a teaser for the upcoming publication of the Libraries’ donor magazine, Gatherings Spring 2019, featuring the full-color story titled, “The Rare Book Collection: Pushing the Boundaries of Paper Engineering.”

Hope you enjoyed the series!