Since 2019, PSBA has been sponsoring an annual book exchange. This popular member based program was established by PSBA member Bonnie Julien. Bonnie relocated to Bremerton, Washington in 2009 from Eureka, California where she was an active member of the North Redwoods Book Art Guild (NORBAG). NORBAG had a strong tradition of exchanges, beginning in 1995.

The idea was simple. Participants were asked to make a book, bring or mail it to arrive before the workshop on the second Saturday of every month, and you would receive someone else’s book in a blind exchange. Themes were chosen for the whole year by the members and announced in the monthly newsletter. 

Building on the experiences of NORBAG, Bonnie suggested to the PSBA Board that we try a book exchange. The Board chose a theme, Pockets, and Bonnie offered to organize the event to be held in September 2019. We held the first exchange at Collins Library and approximately 20 members participated. SInce then, the event has grown in popularity and shows no signs of slowing down!