Happy Lunar New Year!

Posted on February 17, 2026 by Dana Sheridan

Happy Year of the Horse! Today, I absolutely had to share the outstanding artistry of Princeton University staff member Asumi Shibata, Senior Bibliographic Specialist in the East Asian Library. She casually posted these images in a group work channel and my jaw just dropped.

Her gorgeous collage was created for display on the bulletin board in the East Asian Library kitchen, and is made almost entirely of recycled book covers!

Look at the details on the paper flowers!

In addition to horses, Asumi crafted fish for the collage, explaining that “in the Chinese blessing 年年有余 (roughly means may your year be prosperous) prosperity sounds like fish.” Fish gets its auspicious meaning from one of its homophones（鱼fish and 余extra have the same pronunciation “yu”). Having fish thus symbolizes having “extra,” i.e. abundance.

Thank you for sharing your extraordinary talents with us Asumi! This is so beautiful!

Coloring Cotsen: Aquarium Comicum

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Dana Sheridan

The current special exhibition inside the Cotsen Children’s Library, “Sixpenny Stunners,” is a charming collection of illustrated children’s tales cleverly printed in pamphlet form.

One of the stories included in the exhibition, Aquarium Comicum, is a hilarious poem about the realm of King Sturgeon and his nemesis, the rebellious Octopus, and how peace between the two rivals was eventually restored with help from Lord Mayor John Dory. The illustrations are super quirky and fun, and Katie wanted to share a few of them for Coloring Cotsen!

The Toronto Public Library has a digital version of the Aquarium Comicum for anyone who would like to read more about the pamphlet’s cast of characters or sing the accompanying music score. There is also much more to learn about the “Sixpenny Stunners” exhibition on Cotsen’s curatorial blog.

Forms & Functions: The Splendors of Global Bookmaking

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Dana Sheridan

Book enthusiasts near and far are cordially invited to a fantastic new exhibit!

“Forms and Function: The Splendors of Global Book Making,” is currently in the Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery in Firestone Library on Princeton University campus. Curated by Martin Heijdra, Director of PUL’s East Asian Library, the exhibit showcases the diversity and beauty of global book making, focusing on three major traditions of the book form: codex, East Asian, and pothī.

Awash in rich jewel tones and featuring a range of striking visuals, the exhibition features treasures from some of Princeton’s lesser-known collections, as well as items from its renowned collections of Western, Islamic, East Asian, and Mesoamerican manuscripts and printed books. There are also works by modern artists completed in the style of these global traditions. For gallery hours and directions to campus, please click here. The exhibit runs through December 7, 2025.

Can’t make the trip? No worries! There is a video tour here, a digital version of the exhibit here, and a downloadable guide here.

In celebration of the exhibit’s amazing holdings, we selected some of our more unusual book-crafting projects for further fun. Simply click the titles over the images to visit the project pages!

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