May 29, 1997

Contact:
Craig D'Ooge (202) 707-9189

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Connecticut Center for the Book Approved

The Library of Congress has approved a proposal for a Connecticut Center for the Book that will be affiliated with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. It will be located at the Hartford Public Library, where chief librarian Louise Blalock will serve as interim coordinator until the complete advisory board has been named.

The announcement was made by Center for the Book Director John Y. Cole on May 5 at the annual state center "idea exchange day," held at the Library of Congress. "We're delighted to welcome Connecticut to the growing network of state centers," said Dr. Cole. "Louise Blalock has outlined an impressive program for celebrating Connecticut's books, readers, and writers and the state's rich literary heritage."

This brings to 32 the state Centers for the Book in the United States. On August 15-17, the Connecticut Center for the Book will participate in Hartford's citywide International Mark Twain Days Celebration. The new center also will be part of the Second Annual Wallace Stevens Birthday Party on October 3. The day will begin with a marathon reading of Stevens's poems and essays and conclude with a dinner at the Hartford Public Library featuring poet John Hollander.

One of the Connecticut Center for the Book's first projects will be a "Guide to Connecticut's Printers and Presses," an exhibition and publication project that will be developed in cooperation with the Connecticut State Library, the Connecticut Library Association, and the Southern Connecticut Library Reading Council.

For information about the new center, contact Louise Blalock, chief librarian, Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103-3075, telephone (860) 543-8652; fax (860) 722-6900.

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PR 97-97
5/29/97
ISSN 0731-3527