Help Support the NIU BookLab

The NIU BookLab opened on April 28, 2025, thanks to the support of a 2023 crowdfunding initiative. Funds raised in that effort paid for the restoration of the Lab's 1975 replica common press, as well as the acquisition of other equipment and supplies. 

See more about the NIU BookLab in the Northern Illinois University Libraries newsletter here. 

At BookLab students learn about books, bookmaking, and global technologies of the word. They engage in activities such as calligraphy, letterpress and block printing, paper making, early word processing such as typewriters, and newer technologies such as digital publishing and generative AI. BookLab students practice a variety of bookmaking styles and skills to explore how these technologies shape the way we think and write.

Students have much to gain from the humanities' perspectives on technology. For instance, what ethical issues might technologies such as AI raise? How have humans adapted to rapid changes in technology in the past? What lessons from the past can we use to address the present? 

The Friends of Northern Illinois University Libraries will match the first $1,500 raised in this campaign, dollar for dollar.