Rare opportunity to view delicate collection will also feature remarks by Chief of Binding and Collections Care of the Library of Congress

A rare opportunity to view an extensive collection of delicate, handmade art books from Cuba is the centerpiece of “Unbound: The Artistry of Cuban Bookmaking,” a Sept. 27 event at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

The event will also feature a lecture by Jeanne Drewes, Chief of the Binding & Collections Care Division at the Library of Congress. Drewes, a UMKC alumna, recently donated her personal collection of Ediciones Vigía books to the LaBudde Special Collections at UMKC. She will discuss the small press community at Vigía, the books and how they are made, as well as her time and experiences during her travels to Cuba.

The event begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. in the LaBudde Special Collections Department on the third floor of UMKC’s Miller Nichols Library, 800 E. 51 St., Kansas City, Missouri. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required and available at http://www.umkcalumni.com/unbound. The event is sponsored by UMKC Libraries, UMKC Founders’ Week, UMKC Friends of the Library and the UMKC College of Arts & Sciences.

The extensive collection of handmade books are products of Ediciones Vigía, an independent small press publishing company located in Matanzas, Cuba.

“What is Vigía? It is a book cooperative; it is a small press; it is an artist community; it is a gathering of literary and artistic people who come together to create,” Drewes said.

At the Library of Congress, Drewes is responsible for the general collection of the library, including new books, serials, maps, photographs and prints of both foreign and domestic imprints that come into the Library’s collection. Drewes says she was drawn to books, and then to book preservation, because of her love of reading as a child. She graduated from UMKC with a degree in English and her venture into library work began while she was a student.