April 10, 1994

Contact: Barbara Bryant, (202) 707-2905

---

Library of Congress Publishes New Pictorial Display on "The Open Road"

This summer the Library of Congress, in association with Social Issues Resources Series, Inc. (SIRS), will release a new "Library of Congress Corner" theme display to celebrate adventures on "The Open Road" in pictures and text. The "Library of Congress Corner" series features reproductions of manuscripts, photographs, maps, posters, prints, rare books, musical scores and other material drawn from the Library's collections. Each display describes a particular aspect of United States history, culture, or philosophy.

This new set of poster-sized placards mounted in standardized hardware is the fourth in a series of displays currently available to libraries, office buildings, and shopping plazas throughout the country. Inspired by Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of the Open Road", the new display offers a sample of "The Open Road" theme as it appears in poetry, prose, photography, painting, and song. Interesting material from the Walt Whitman- Charles Feinberg Collection in the Library of Congress's Manuscript Division, such as Walt Whitman's walking stick and railroad map and a letter of praise from Ralph Waldo Emerson, augments work by well known poets as Vachel Lindsay, Mary Austin, and Harry Kemp and others. Excerpts from works by Mark Twain, Jack London and Jack Kerouac are also featured along with portraits of native Americans by George Catlin.

The "Library of Congress Corner" is sold on a subscription basis and display titles are released quarterly. The previous SIRS displays, which are still available, are "Thomas Jefferson's Legacy," "American Folklife: A Commonwealth of Cultures," "An Ongoing Voyage," and "The American Cowboy."

Distributed by the Boca Raton-based SIRS, a 20-year publisher of educational reference materials, "The Library of Congress Corner" is a continuing series designed to further the Library's mission to share its treasures with communities across the nation. Subscribers receive four displays per year, delivered quarterly. Each comes in a portfolio carrying case and includes a supply of 250 pamphlets for distribution. An annual subscription costs $600; each display stand costs $800. To order or for more information contact: SIRS, Inc., P.O. Box 2348, Boca Raton, FL 33427-2348 or call 1-800-232-SIRS.

# # #

PR 94-065
4/6/94
ISSN 0731-3527