The Longest Book is currently in the finishing throws where the internal front and back of are being included, like you would do for a traditional format book. This process will take a couple of months once the very last workshop occurs toward the end of January 2026.
‘The Longest Eco-Friendly Book in the World,’ is a concertina book, handmade, eco-friendly, and made by The City of Greater Geelong community. The aim is to be the longest eco-friendly book in the world. The project started in mid-2022 and the community engagement concludes late 2025.
The focus of the book is of our favourite places/spots in the City of Greater Geelong. Creatives of all ages and abilities are invited to join local artist Fern Smith to help create the longest eco-friendly book in the world, page by page, at workshops in libraries and community spaces. The community creators have written. drawn, collaged and needled worked page by page and number over eight hundred. with the age spanning 7months to 91 years.
The project is kindly supported by organisations and groups who provide workshop space and publish events. They are Geelong Regional Libraries (GRLC), Drysdale Museum, Bellarine Landcare Nursery, Wangala Primary, Bellarine Catchment Network, Swan Bay Environment Group, Geelong Writers Inc, Geelong Embroiders Guild and the Queenscliff Marine Discovery Research Centre.
What is a safe environmentally friendly concertina book?
Its culmination of all the materials used. My benchmark is can it be composited for your vegge patch and/or if it fell in the river would cause no harm?
Paper used in this book is all pre and post-consumer paper.
The book pages are made from the end rolls of the Post office tuff-bags. The brown paper in tuff-bags is from recycled papers. (double recycled)
The collage paper is from out-of-date post-consumer Geelong Visitor Information of the Geelong Region – booklets, flyers and foldouts. Pre-consumer papers from Doggett of FSC®, PEFC, carbon neutral, post & pre consumer waste fibre and recycled stocks.
Cottons and wools used in the stitched pages
Pencils both graphite and coloured – within my control no markers or modern crayons used as there is petroleum by products used.
Paint is water colour. No acrylic paints/polymers used within my control
Glue that binds the book and used in the collaged pages is wheaten corn flour, water and essential oil. Link Recipe
WORKSHOPS
The Longest Book in the World held its last GLRC library workshop at Waurn Ponds Library on the 4th of November with an enthusiastic group of post-toddlers and guardians in the front light filled room. From September 2022 to November 2025, we achieved the longest eco-friendly concertina book in the world.
The book currently stands at two thousand, one hundred and sixty-four (2164) pages equaling five hundred and forty-one (541) meters, with nine hundred and sixty (960) participants, through one hundred and nine (109) workshops with ninety-one (91) being through GLRC libraries.
There are six more booked workshops most during the school holidays in Jan 2026.
Follow FaceBook: Currently on break until the new year see you then. https://www.facebook.com/longestbookgeelong/
Journal log found here to be updated to reflect 2024 (to be updated over the coming months
Tiny sample of Participants work: Embroidery, lino print, drawing, collage and writing.
QUERY: Send a text message to 0408978747. Leave your name and short query or fill out form at the bottom of this page. There have been a lot of queries on how to make the eco-friendly glue. Here is the link.