The Writers’ Center, a resident organization formed by graduates of Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York, presented Barton's first exposure to the book arts.

When The Writers’ Center received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to produce twenty artists’ books, Barton was invited as a participant in the project.

She traveled to libraries and collections across the United States where she discovered a wide variety of books utilizing sculptural formats and uncommon engineering techniques.

Through many years of teaching, Barton found that the best way for students to learn paper engineering techniques was through direct, hands-on experience.

[7] She was the first Dorothy Liskey Wampler Distinguished Art Professorship visiting scholar at James Madison University Special Collections.