This guide was inspired by an exhibition at the Haas Family Arts Library held in Fall 2011, ten years after the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001, in several locations on the East Coast of the United States.  People in all parts of the country were affected and many of them looked for ways to respond.  The guide documents work created by artists in response to the events of that fateful day.  Many of the works memorialize the people lost and the indescribable sense that we, as a people, also lost something more intangible.  Some might call it a sense of innocence, others might call it a sense of safety, but few Americans would deny that the world felt changed after that day.  Using the book format, these artists have given form to these difficult thoughts and emotions to share with a wider audience and help us remember.

The guide is divided into four lists.  Three of the lists are of artists’ books and the last contains books with art work in them, but that are not artists’ books.  The artists’ books have been loosely divided into the following categories:

• The Book as Memorial – artists’ books that function as memorials
• First Person Accounts – artists’ books that document personal experiences related to the events of 9/11
• Abstracted/Metaphorical – artists’ books that use abstraction or extended metaphors to express the artist’s ideas about 9/11