Books become art objects but not for keeps

The New York Times reports on the Portland (Maine) Public Library's program to invite artists to transform its discarded books into booklike pieces of art. They're in Portland's online catalog, and you can borrow them (by interlibrary loan, if you wish) too.

The Portland Public Library has been kind to us. We're indebted to them for our set of U.S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletins; the Treasury Department's Annual Reports of the U.S. Life-Saving Service (1876-1914), full of harrowing coastal rescue stories; and more.