Librarians may find the following blog post distressing

[Bern]

Brian Dettmer is an American artist who carves artworks out of books. He seals, then cuts into older dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, science and engineering books, art books, medical guides, history books, atlases, comic books, wallpaper sample books, and others, exposing select images and text to create intricate three-dimensional derivative works that reveal new or alternative interpretations of the books. Dettmer never inserts or moves any of the books' contents.

Take a look at Dettmer's creations here, here and here.

[Ellen]

This is great - and a good re-use of books (provided they were not current library books).

[Shirley Diegelman]

I love what Brian Dettmer does with books. Altered books really celebrate the tactile qualities of reading. There is a good book in Mosman library called "New directions in altered books" by Gabe Cyr which might also inspire any budding artists out there.