April 27, 1998

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

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Library of Congress to Host Conference on National Libraries

As part of the commemoration of its Bicentennial in the year 2000, the Library of Congress will host a conference, "National Libraries: Interpreting the Past, Shaping the Future," on Oct. 23-27, 2000. The co-chairs are Winston Tabb, Associate Librarian for Library Services, and John Y. Cole, Director of the Center for the Book. Co-sponsors include the American Library Association's Library History Round Table, and the National Libraries Section and the Library History Round Table of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

The conference planning committee welcomes proposals for individual papers dealing with the role of national libraries--or a single library--within a national or international cultural context. The conference will include papers about the history of national libraries as well as their role today and in the future. Papers may deal with any geographic area or chronological period. Individuals interested in presenting papers should send a two-page proposal with a brief curriculum vitae by Dec. 1, 1998, to John Y. Cole, Center for the Book, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20540-4920, telephone (202) 707-5221, fax (202) 707-0269.

The conference has been designated "Library History Seminar X," continuing a tradition of library history seminars held approximately every five years in cooperation with the American Library Association's Library History Round Table and the journal Libraries & Culture. The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress participates in library history seminars as part of its mission to encourage the study of the role of books, reading, and libraries. For information about the Center for the Book's program, visit its site on the World Wide Web at: http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/.

 

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PR 98-069
4/27/98
ISSN 0731-3527