Books Created by Libraries Staff are Good Enough to Eat

British philosopher Francis Bacon must have had this idea in mind when he said, "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." Members of the University Libraries staff will be eating their books as they join the International Edible Book Festival April 1 at high tea time, 4 p.m., in the Langsam staff lounge on the sixth floor of Langsam Library. Viewing of the edible exhibit begins at 3:30 p.m. Staff members and visitors can get a taste of the creations that will look like a book, but are cooked up in the kitchen.

The event is open to the campus community and the public, with free admission if you bring your own edible book. Admission will be three dollars for those who do not bring edible books. The admission includes tea and an opportunity to sample the creations. The money will go to the libraries' student appreciation fund for an annual event that recognizes the libraries' student workers.

Library staff who are currently writing out the recipes for their edible books include Mark Palkovic, associate senior librarian and head of CCM Library; Jane Carlin, head librarian, DAAP Library; Pam Bach, coordinator of Info Commons; Barb Macke, an assistant in training and educational services; and Erika Taibl, libraries associate public information officer.

Mark Palkovic tried a run-through of his ideas that included an appetizer, a main course and dessert. Palkovic, an avid miniature book collector (he owns the world's smallest miniature book), made an appetizer version of a miniature book by using matzo crackers with hummus filling. Using the sharp point of a paring knife, Palkovic drilled tiny holes along the edges of the cracker, threaded it with red licorice, and tied it into a bow for the binding. His finishing touch was using a strip of red licorice as the background to spell out his title, "ode," using Karo syrup to stick on the letters, made of Alpha Bits cereal.

His main course used a flour tortilla as the book cover, with 'pages' made of romaine lettuce, ham and Colby cheese. Here, he used black licorice for the binding, but is considering some other options. The sandwich short story was titled, "poetry."

Finally, a tasty dessert, with the book cover made of matzo, and the book's filling made of peanut butter, marshmallow fluff and corn syrup. The bow-tied bindings again were made of red licorice. Palkovic titled his dessert "tome."

The International Edible Book Festival began in 2000 and is held on April 1 each year. Other participating countries include Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Spain. Participants send photos of their creations to publisher Umbrella Editions to be considered for a potential (non-edible) book.