Do you remember when you were a kid and it was Library Day at school? If you are like me, it was the best day ever! Not only did you get a break from the seat work in class, but it was so exciting to browse shelf after shelf of stories that would take you anywhere you wanted to go. Now, I may come off a bit nerdy here, but as much as I enjoyed a good story, I was also intrigued by the little library pocket at the back of the book. It always looked so perfectly important there, all official and organized, protecting the card holding all the names of the previous readers who enjoyed this very story. I used to check the pocket to see if anyone ever left something in the there (no, but I was always curious and hopeful) and every once in a while I would store my bookmark in that pocket until I started reading the book.
That little pocket made enough of an impression on me that I still hold the memory as an adult. So now, when I am creating items for my Etsy shop, and my goal is to make useful and beautiful things, the idea for a library pocket pops into my head. Even though the ones you’ll find in library books (only the old ones of course as now everything has gone to a digital scanning system) are so cute and tiny, I decided to make these ones long and sturdy.
This past spring, Hubby and I went on our Bucket List trip to Italy. There were 6 stops on our adventure and for each one we had collected all kinds of paper to keep us organized on track - and that was even before we left home! We had AirBnB reservations, train tickets, event bookings, restaurant suggestions, maps, itineraries, and ‘must do’ lists for each destination city that we were to visit. So, in a moment of need mixed with nostalgia, I had the idea to make a long library pocket to hold all of the pertinent pieces for each of the 6 towns on our list.
I simply adhered one pocket in my travel journal every few pages (left blank for documenting the daily goings on while on our actual trip) to not only indicate the order of our trip, but to store and keep handy all of the important papers that we had to produce when we arrived at the next town on our list. Then, when needed, I knew exactly where to go to find the address for the AirBnB. It turned out to be a brilliant idea!
Each of the pockets is fashioned from recycled shopping bags. Not only does this offer a unique and varied characteristic to my journal, but the shopping bag paper is much sturdier than regular paper, making it durable and able to stand up to me reaching in to pull things out and then return them over and over again. And in a world where recycling is a household word now, I figure I am doing good by the environment to use up these pretty bags!
Perhaps you are not going on a trip anytime soon but you are intrigued with this library pocket idea. No worries, there are many other uses for them as well. They could be used in a baby book to hold birth stories or hospital information for new moms. They could hold love letters or pen pal letters (I know people still do that kind of thing because I’ve seen it on Instagram). They’re great in a scrapbook to keep archival documents that are too fragile to be glued in or that need to be read on both sides. And, if you love making lists, they could even hold the weekly shopping list on your fridge for you!
So, if you are interested, I’d love for you to go check out my Etsy shop at rePaperedShop.
I’d even love it if you were to leave me a comment here telling me your idea for how to use one of these lovely long library pockets. Or, perhaps you’d like to share your memory of the good ‘ole Library Days from your childhood - I’d love that too!
