TELLING
AMERICA'S STORIES
"Stories connect people to the world of books and reading,"
said Center for the Book director John Y. Cole in announcing
that TELLING AMERICA'S STORIES will be the Library
of Congress's reading promotion theme for the years 2001-2003.
"The Center for the Book and the American
Folklife Center will sponsor this project jointly,"
said Cole, "and we invite schools, libraries, museums, historical
societies, families, and individuals to join us. We also
enlist our affiliated centers in 42 states and the District
of Columbia."
TELLING AMERICA'S STORIES takes advantage of the
Library of Congress Web site - America's
Library, existing Center for the Book projects such
as Favorite Poem, Literary Heritage USA, the River of Words
environmental poetry and art contest; and Rivers of America,
a documentation project with the American Folklife Center.
"The American Folklife Center is delighted to be part
of this campaign," said director Peggy Bulger. "Not only
does it complement Local Legacies, one of our major efforts
to celebrate community traditions, but it also fits beautifully
with our American war veterans oral history project and
our plans to strengthen the American Folklife Center's storytelling
collections."
The popular Library of Congress Web site, America's Library,
was designed to stimulate interest in American history among
families and young people. It presents lively stories from
America's past grouped into five categories ("Meet Amazing
Americans," "Jump Back in Time," "Explore the States," "Join
America at Play," "See, Hear, and Sing"), using unique items
from the Library's collections--mostly letters, diaries,
records and tapes , films, sheet music, maps, prints and
photographs.
Previous Center for the Book reading promotion themes
have included "The Year of the Young Reader" (1989), "Books
Change Lives" (1993-1994), and "Building a Nation of Readers"
(1997- 2000).
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