Abigail Derkson/ Winonan
Sarah Peters caused a stir on Lake Winona this past weekend.
On a crisp, cloudy Saturday morning, Peters brought to Winona what no one had before: a library designed specifically to float on water.
With the help of many volunteers, Peters set up the floating library on Lake Winona in front of the Lake Lodge Recreation Center and invited everyone to come check it out.
Community members and students alike kayaked or canoed to the center of the lake to see Peters’ collection of book art.
Junior Grace Pesch loved how interactive the library was.
“It’s a lot different than going to a library and sitting down with a book for a couple of hours,” she said. “Here there’s exercise, fresh air and you can talk to people about art.”
Pesch also enjoyed Peters involvement with the collection. She was excited that she could give feedback to Peters about a book, and Peters in turn could give feedback to the original artist.
Senior Katelyn Dreblow shared the same feeling. Dreblow found out about Peters’ project through the Winona State update, and she wanted to experience the library because of her love of both books and the outdoors. Like Pesch, Dreblow enjoyed talking with others out on the lake. The shared experience helped her to connect with others, she said.
Bringing people together was one of Peters’ goals with this project.
During a public talk at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum on Thurs. Sept. 11, Peters spoke about the inspiration behind the project and the logistics that went into planning.
“I was interested in water as a space for bringing people together,” Peters said. She was interested in what she described as “a common space, uncommon experience.”
The library was inspired by another project Peters had participated in: the Art Shanty Project. She and several others created an ice-fishing house, described as a “living room on ice,” while other projects included a teahouse shanty, a music box shanty and a sauna shanty.
Peters and a friend said they wanted to continue this experience on the lake. They would row out to a lake and read, and people on the water conversed with them.
“It was a social experience that was unexpected but genuine and fun,” Peters said. “You’re inspired to converse when seeing something not normal.”
With this thought in mind, Peters created a pilot of the floating library project and applied for a grant from the State Arts Board, which she received to fund her project. With this grant Peters hired a graphic designer, an architect and commissioned three art projects. Many artists from around the country as well as some internationally contributed their artwork.
People in their kayaks or canoes could check out the artwork featured in the collection, so they could read on the lake or in their kayaks. A drop box was designed so that books could be returned.
Several books in the collection were popular amongst visitors. One of the books included lyrics about food from various Prince songs, another was a group of postcards addressed to “dear stranger” and a third book was of Scandinavian proverbs by a Minneapolis press.
Some books did not even look like books at all. There was a viewer with 3D slides and a flipbook with a picture of a blazing fire and tornado on the inside.
For volunteer Andy Noble, the flipbook was one of his favorites. He also enjoyed interacting with people who came up to the library.
“It’s a cool community project,” he said. “It’s a strange but cool interaction between people and objects and nature.”
Fellow volunteer senior Gabi Hale agreed. She enjoyed how relaxing the library was and enjoyed meeting new people.
“It was cool helping people find books and talk to them and help them pick out books,” Hale said.
Volunteers and visitors alike reached a consensus: the library would be a great event to welcome back to the Winona community.
