‘Tis one of the most exciting ventures we at Prometheus Publishing and The Art of the CEO radio show have ever sponsored. Amid warm camaraderie and intriguing artistry the Trenton Library Box project launched on Thursday night on the sidewalk surrounding the Championship Sports Bar on 931 Chambers Street – right in the true heart of the Garden State’s capital city.

Tammy Tores, having just flown back into town from her latest art exhibit in Rome, proudly stood beside and explained the feminist art on the Library Box she had created. Will Kasso told of his mindset that led to his explosively painted box, (think Hieronymus Bosch.) Bruce has sculpted a stark white, truly fun piece of kinetic art – impossible not to play with. And body artist Antoinette Marchfelder put finishing touches on her box sheathed with a mystically flowing feminine form.

My librarian wife Lorraine and I chatted with the artists and admired their metal and wood boxes which will soon be filled with donated books and set around Trenton. All those seeking the joy and wisdom of reading may literally help themselves to a book. Each box has a patron who tends it and will keep it filled. The founder and energizing force of this Trenton Library Box Project is Mr. Jacque Howard – creator of the Trenton365 radio show and movement. You may get the full story of Jacque and this city-unifying project on our latest The Art of the CEO radio episode: Engineering Community Momentum.

Within the past few years, four of Trenton’s public libraries have closed. As artist Will Kasso recalls, “The library used to be the place where we as kids could go and hang out – get our studying done. Now they are gone.” But Trenton, with the likes of Jacque and the many community boosters gathered this past Thursday, is not to be counted out. Inside the Championship Bar, the artistically tattooed bar maid Nikki pours me a cold brew and shows me the huge piles of donated books that will soon grace the boxes.

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need,” once noted Marcus Tullius Cicero, sage of ancient Rome. (You might enjoy his books.) And here is Trenton. It had no gardens. So its people got together and voluntarily are building gardens. Trenton looses its libraries, and voluntarily the people come together and build them. There is no waiting or whining for funds. This is Trenton, and my friend, Trenton Makes.

To learn more about this program visit www.librarybox.com.

Wishing you every success,

– Bart Jackson