The Rebecca Crown Library of Dominican University and 4RFuture; the University’s sustainability initiative have teamed up to bring a creative and sustainable twist to the holidays by 
creating a large Christmas- themed display in the library.
The most prominent feature of our display is the nine foot Christmas tree. The tree is constructed from over 500 volumes of the National Union Catalog, a large collection of reference books. Prior to the internet, this catalog was the best resource for finding books in other libraries. The tree is decorated with snowflakes made from recycled book pages, and garland created from the colorful covers of old government publications. Beneath the tree are books from the library’s giveaway table that have been wrapped in newspaper and old maps already withdrawn from the collection. The packages are adorned with ribbon made from old cassette and VHS tape.
Smaller trees made from volumes of an old series of government publications are on each study table in the library to bring a bit of holiday cheer while studying for finals. Each tree features garland made from cassette tape and a little star adding the final touch.
Large snowflakes made from old maps of Illinois hang at three different levels from the interior spiral staircase creating a falling effect. This also enables library users to see these magnificent creations from numerous levels of the library.
This display was designed by Bryan Deziel, Jill Bambenek, and Elena Maans. Special thanks to the library staff and student employees for their assistance with the construction of the display. The Rebecca Crown Library of Dominican University is located at 7900 W Division St, River Forest. Stop by and take a look during their Holiday Hours. Learn more on the library's blog.
