The Alberta Kartonera project emerged alongside the exhibit From Trash to Treasure, organized by the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies (MLCS), which was on display during October 2023 at Rutherford Library, University of Alberta (UofA), in Edmonton-AB, Canada. The website serves as an important tool for publicizing the exhibit, that showcased a collection of Brazilian Cartonera books from the publishers Katarina Kartonera and Vento Norte Cartonero, with the aim of disseminating this sustainable literature both in Canada and internationally. These books, which covers are made from recycled cardboard, are part of the Bruce Peel Special Collections—a special division of Rutherford Library dedicated to housing a collection of over 100,000 rare books and a significant archive of materials that explore a range of local and international subjects (BPSC Website, n.d.).

Beyond promoting the exhibit and books, another parallel purpose conceptualized by the team responsible for both projects—Librarian Denis Lacroix (MLIS | BEd | BA), Master’s Candidate in Digital Humanities/MLCS and Research Assistant Francerlândio Cruz (Spc | LittB), MLCS Postdoctoral Fellow Yuliia Deviatko (PhD), and the main visionary and leader of these initiatives, MLCS Professor Odile Cisneros (PhD), all members of the UofA academic community—is that Alberta Kartonera also became a Cartonera publisher. The name itself was inspired by existing Cartonera publishers in Latin America, such as Katarina Kartonera, a Brazilian publisher that served as a reference for adopting the term “Kartonera,” as well as Eloísa Cartonera (Argentina), Vento Norte Cartonero (Brazil), Nuestra Señora Cartonera (Chile), Dulcineia Catadora (Brazil), among others.

The proposal is for students from MLCS courses at the Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta—whose foremost expert on Latin American studies, particularly Brazil, is Professor Dr. Odile Cisneros, who also facilitated the acquisition of the collection for the library—to produce books in this genre and conduct workshops at the UofA, public schools and libraries, or other venues. These productions would be published and promoted by the publisher and the website. To date, no book has been published by Alberta Kartonera yet.