Big Book of Boxes (Evergreen Publishers, 2009) is a book of box patterns with minimal text in seven languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch. The boxes are not specifically for library or preservation purposes (you can read about the boxes we make in our Conservation Lab in our previous post, 1091 Project: Boxes), but could certainly be fashioned or modified for lab use. The patterns are divided into categories which include basic models, boxes for the office, boxes for clothes and accessories, boxes for children’s bedrooms, boxes for food and drink, decorative accessory boxes, themed holiday boxes, and boxes for gifts. Each pattern page has a multi-lingual description and a gray-scale sketch of the finished box (see photos below). The book comes with a CD-ROM of printable versions of all of the patterns. I’m frankly charmed by both the functional and whimsical boxes described in this book.
Inspired by Big Book of Boxes, we’ve added experimental box-making to our list of potential ideas for our annual holiday staff development workshop. Have any of you used the patterns in this book to make boxes? We’d love to hear about successes or challenges in the Comments section, as well as any other box-pattern books you recommend.
Library and Archives Preservation 
Wow! I love the concept and the constructivist cover design! Given the right circumstances, I might be tempted to lure coworkers into a box-a-thon with a resulting exhibit.
That is an EXCELLENT idea.