The friends of the Dartmouth Libraries hosted a progam to hand-copy the U.S. Constitution.  The program was so successful that the organizers have decided to continue on a monthly basis (the third Tuesday of every month) with alternating daytime and evening hours.  The program will be held at the Dartmouth North Branch Library.

Here’s the schedule:

• Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 6 - 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, January 20, 2026, 10 a.m.-noon
• Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 6 - 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 10 a.m.-noon
• Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 6 - 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 10 a.m.-noon

Blank composition books will be provided for all participants as well as copies of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Hand Copying the U.S. Constitution

Community members are invited to handwrite the United States Constitution at the North Branch Library. This program aims to create time and a quiet space to reflect and deepen one’s understanding of this historic document.

Notebooks and copies of the Constitution will be available. Participants should bring their favorite writing implement. This program is self-paced. Patrons are invited to stay for the whole two hours or simply stay as long as they would like.

This will be a time for individual, quiet introspection, not political or legal discussion. There is no registration required.

About Handwriting the Constitution

Handwriting the Constitution is a social art project begun in 2017 by artist Morgan O’Hara. It invites people from all walks of life to meet in public spaces to handwrite the U.S. Constitution or other documents written to protect human rights and freedoms. This art practice was created so that people will know their rights, deepen their understanding of laws created to protect these rights, and to help resist negative thinking.

The goal of this art practice is to encourage people to hold their own handwriting sessions on a recurring basis; to create a physical and psychological space that explores the practice of concentrated writing as an art form, and a process designed to bring people together in a quiet and calming way, all by focusing on human rights. It has been identified as a powerful and transformative form of activism for introverts.