The Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) has found a new home and unique opportunities on the southern edge of downtown Minneapolis. MCBA began negotiations several years ago with other arts organizations to purchase a large building, both to offset rapidly increasing rents and to expand its facilities. Three years of careful planning have paid off in the new Open Book, the Minnesota Book and Literary Arts Building. In addition to MCBA, Open Book so far houses The Loft Literary Center, an internationally known facility for writers; Milkweed Editions, a nonprofit literary publisher; Ruminator Books, a locally owned bookstore; and the Coffee Gallery cafe. Open Book’s refurbished building—once tenement housing, then a warehouse and industrial space—is remarkable in a number of ways. On entering the building, one notices first the abundant natural light brought in by the twelve-foot-high windows, which open onto Washington Avenue. The building's northern exposure, its high ceilings, and its elaborate floor-to-ceiling doors contribute to making the space far brighter, more open, and more accessible than MCBA's old building. Hardwood floors display the work of local artist Patrick Kelley: the evolution of the written alphabet displayed through resin and concrete-filled letters and symbols, cut into the boards. A central staircase, created by artist Karen Wirth, is designed to look like a disassembled book whose pages support a handrail. Throughout the building, architectural elements and patches of original wallpaper have been preserved to connect artists and visitors with the building’s history. Classrooms and offices for The Loft and Milkweed are on the second and third floors. An open rooftop patio reveals a stunning view of downtown Minneapolis. In addition, these upper floors have writers' studios, a performance space, and lounge areas where writers and artists can meet and talk. The ground floor and basement house MCBA's new facilities, 12,155 square feet in all. The new MCBA space includes two sound-proofed beater rooms and two paper studios, which have a new vat and a new David Reina beater as well as a Valley. The printing and typesetting facilities and the bindery are also newly expanded, with over   ten presses, three board shears, and a room full of type. In addition, the ground floor houses a retail space (where artist's books and paper are sold on consignment), the Star Tribune Foundation Exhibit Gallery, a library, and an archive. A new darkroom allows artists to work with polymer plates and other techniques. Apart from the physical space, the collaboration between the organizations that participate in Open Book makes it unique. Peggy Korsmo-Kennon, MCBA's Executive Director, notes that the Center's decision to work with the other organizations resulted from the realization that it could only be beneficial for MCBA. She points out that the new space is more conceptually open, inviting and accessible to both artists and the general public. The collaboration of organizations creates more possibilities for artists, writers, and printers to work together, making Open Book "a neighborhood for the book arts,” as Korsmo-Kennon puts it. Sandy Beach, poet and Loft writing instructor, adds that the space “provides the opportunity for exploring new areas for inspiration, while creating a connection and community for artists from different disciplines and genres." Alongside the collaborative possibilities, the new space will enable MCBA to better serve book and paper artists. Newer and better equipment, more space, and a growing staff (recently increased to thirteen employees, some of them part-time) will increase its visibility and outreach. The new space has already demonstrated that public interest in artist's books and handmade paper is growing: consignment sales are up significantly since the move. Among other upcoming events, MCBA's staff is planning shows on Asian and Finnish papermaking (the latter to be co-sponsored with the University of Minnesota and the Finnish Embassy). Both shows will feature visiting artists and workshops. Over the long term, Korsmo-Kennon wants to “showcase all of the book arts with shows, classes and visiting artists, balancing papermaking with bookbinding and printmaking, as well as other book arts." Certainly the future for book arts looks bright in the Twin Cities. Catherine Lundoff     CCCCBPA  A few blocks South of Chicago's downtown Loop, students, faculty, and community members are enjoying the new site of the Columbia College Chicago Center for the Book and Paper Arts. On the second floor of the historic Ludington Building (built in 1891 and first occupied by the American Book Company) the Center has been able to stretch out, expand its resources, diversify its offerings, and clearly establish itself as the focus of book and paper arts in Chicago. The 20,000 square foot space was divided, laid out, and designed by the Center's staff to create an ideal learning and working environment. Upon entering, you find yourself in the high-ceilinged, well-lit main gallery, usually filled with an eccentric collection of bindings or prints or paper objects. A second, enclosed gallery space is also used for guest lectures and other special events. On either side of the main gallery are the studios, paper on one side, letterpress printing and bookbinding on the other. A central hallway leads away from the main gallery with doors leading to the MFA graduate students’ private studio spaces, a fully equipped dark room, an iMac lab for graphic design, and a raw space for installations and performances. Tucked away in the offices of the Center is the resource library, a growing collection of rare trade books, manuals, histories, and exhibition catalogs. Complementing the library is the Center's collection of artists' books from students, faculty, and nationally and internationally renowned artists. The Center moved in the summer of 1999 from the seventh floor of another historic building in the Loop. If you were lucky enough to come on a day when the elevators were working, you would have found it cozy (12,000 square foot), full of character (held together with tape), and definitely well-used (pulpy, inky). Unfortunately, there was no room for the Center to grow, and the location afforded little connection to the rest of Columbia's innovative InterArts Programming. The new and improved papermaking facility is brightly lit by floor-to-ceiling windows and includes ample work and storage space. The insulated beater room keeps down the noise of three shiny Hollander beaters: a Voith, a Reina, and a Howard Clark. The facility has two stainless steel vats, hydraulic and electric presses, and   some modified and unusual equipment. Recently, the Center commissioned the fabrication of a unique Japanese heat drying system, based on an original design by Timothy Barrett. Center staff have constructed a modified stack drying system, and a specially built felt drying system that holds up to thirty felts using marbles. Expanded wet and dry areas make work easy in the bustling studio, and equipment is scrupulously maintained. The facility clearly reflects the years of experience and wisdom of the Center staff and the significance of paper-arts to the Columbia College community. The large bookbinding studio, with sunlight streaming in on two sides, houses fine materials and equipment for all aspects of binding. Besides a guillotine book-trimmer, board cutters, two Kuttrimers, and small book presses, the studio comfortably holds a job backer and a combination job backer and plow. Additional equipment includes a hot stamping press, a perforator, and an elegant collection of gilding and tooling equipment. The two divided workspaces accommodate intensive classroom work, historical lectures, and elaborate demonstrations. Sample books, trade posters, and the works of past students give the shop an atmosphere of playfulness while emphasizing a dedication to the craft. The letterpress studio extends down the North side of the building. Along a wall of windows are six tried-and-true Vandercook proofing presses, each with its own furniture case and inking stand. In addition to the Vandercooks, the shop maintains two 12x15 platen presses, treadle-operated monsters from the turn of the century. A new acquisition stands at the center of the studio, a full-size flatbed Washington handpress in perfect working condition (for printing the way Gutenberg did). The type room, much larger than at the old site, still just barely holds the collection of fine typefaces, ornaments, and antique commercial cuts. More than six hundred drawers of type are continually being added to by donors and type hounds. The Center is host to MFA and MA students in the Book and Paper Arts with a steady stream of students from Columbia College's InterArts program, and has recently begun to offer undergraduate courses. Those who are not students can become members of the Center and pay a small fee to use the equipment. The building also houses one of Columbia's major student galleries and a vast commons area, and is being remodeled to provide more graduate studios and facilities for other departments. Late this past spring, CCCCBPA hosted the first exhibition of MFA Book & Paper Arts graduates in the new space. The show was in every way eclectic, exemplifying the virtuosity and ingenuity that places Columbia's Program and the Center among the best in the country. Steve Hendricks