Lara Tokarski, Book Repair Associate

Based in Bloomington, Indiana, Lara is a bookbinder, a teacher of book arts, and a book repair specialist. She has taught bookmaking workshops at Village Lights, and you will often see her “tiny book” jewelry for sale at the front counter.

Lara studied book conservation in workshops taught by Don Etherington at the American Academy of Bookbinding and earned a BA in Linguistics from Indiana University, where she is currently employed as a Library Conservation Technician at the E. Lingle Craig Preservation Laboratory. She works in the General Collections Conservation unit, which serves nearly all of the IU Libraries circulating collections.

In addition to her work in book conservation, Lara has performed with the Arizona Shakespeare Festival, is a dedicated Tolkien fanatic, and bakes cookies to relieve stress.

Lara Recommends

Staff Pick Badge
Angelmaker (Vintage Contemporaries) By Nick Harkaway Cover Image

Staff Pick Badge
Sunshine By Robin McKinley Cover Image

Staff Pick Badge
Little, Big By John Crowley Cover Image

Staff Pick Badge
The Wee Free Men (Tiffany Aching #1) By Terry Pratchett Cover Image

Staff Pick Badge
The Silmarillion By J.R.R. Tolkien Cover Image

Staff Pick Badge
Gaudy Night: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery with Harriet Vane By Dorothy L. Sayers Cover Image

Staff Pick Badge
Space Opera (Space Opera, The #1) By Catherynne M. Valente Cover Image

Staff Pick Badge
The Starless Sea: A Novel By Erin Morgenstern Cover Image