This year marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It’s an important historical birthday for the United States, and we will be celebrating it all year-round with our new Free to Be series. With respect to Marlo Thomas, our Free to Be posts will be celebrating unique freedoms we enjoy as Americans. And this month, we’re looking at how we’re free to create.
When writing the Constitution, our Founding Fathers had many different government functions and roles that they considered. Among the enumerated powers they gave Congress was the power “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”
Or to put it more simply, in 1789, the Constitution provided Americans with a federal framework for patent and copyright. Before then, American colonies and states had provided some intellectual property protection, but they did not carry over from one jurisdiction to another. So, an inventor may have been able to protect their work in South Carolina, but it was not a given that they would enjoy the same protections next door in Georgia, let alone in Virginia or Massachusetts.
Now, American inventors and thinkers could rest assured that their work would be protected across state lines, for a limited period of time. When the Constitution was written, that time frame was generally considered to be up to 14 years, inspired by English law on the subject.
In 1790, the year after the Constitution was ratified, President George Washington granted the first patent to a Vermont inventor named Samuel Hopkins for his new process of making potash and pearl ash. [The following year, Hopkins also received the first Canadian patent for the same discovery.]
At the Berryville Library, 250 years after our nation’s founding, we don’t issue patents, but we have plenty of opportunities for you to invent and create! That is even more true now that we are in the new building and have much more ideal spaces for programming.
Come see us every Wednesday between 10 am and 6 pm for our Mid-Week Makerspace Program. All ages now have access to our 3D printer, sewing machines, Cricut, and more for their own projects in the Meeting Room during this time.
We’re also offering two new programs this month. Join us on Monday, September 14, for our first monthly Second Monday Mingle. This gathering will be focused on the art of the puzzle (or at least working together to put some puzzles together)! Monday, September 21, marks the first of our new quarterly Stay and Make workshops. Join us to learn about and try your hand at the contemporary Japanese art form of kinusaiga. Registration is required for this workshop as space is limited. Call the library to reserve your spot.
We also are continuing old favorites like Wednesday morning Craft & Chat and bimonthly Wednesday afternoon Lego Clubs.
We love exercising our right to create! Thank you, America!
What do you like to create? Tell us in the comments!
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