Build a Better Book Goes to College

Prof. Tamara O'Callaghan launched the first BBB honors level course at Northern Kentucky University this Fall! Students immersed themselves in tactile learning and technology, developing four multimodal children's books. With support from Clovernook's Braille Printing House, their books will be distributed to children in Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and Somalia. 

At the core of the Build a Better Book course, students re-imagined the reading experience and the book format to incorporate the senses of sight, sound, and touch. Using 3D printing and lasercutting, students prototyped new book designs for children with blindness, low vision, and other disabilities. Their designs incorporated audio, and experiments with vintage letterpress printing with the Cincinnati Type & Print Museum, and braille and tactile printing through Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. These partnerships and community engagement continue to flourish with student internship opportunities at Clovernook and continued collaboration with the Cincinnati Type & Print Museum using old and new technologies to create textured prints. Professor O'Callaghan will continue her work with Build a Better Book in upcoming semesters with the addition of new maker equipment and additional course offerings.

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