Public Affairs Office
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington DC 20540-1610
tel (202) 707-2905
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email pao@loc.gov

June 21, 1999
Contact: Guy Lamolinara, Library of Congress (202) 707-9217 (until June 24 in Washington); (504) 522-4500 (after June 24, in New Orleans)
Judi Provosty, Buerman Miller Group in New Orleans (504) 524-3342

MEDIA ADVISORY:

Library of Congress to Highlight Louisiana "Local Legacies"
State's Cultural Heritage to Be Documented for Future Generations

WHO:
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington
U.S. Members of Congress from Louisiana
Louisiana participants in the Local Legacies Bicentennial project of the Library of Congress

WHAT:
Briefing for media on Louisiana's contribution to the Local Legacies project, in which communities across the nation are documenting their local cultural traditions. This documentation, in words and photographs and on video and audio tape, will be sent to Washington, D.C., for inclusion in the permanent collections of the Library's American Folklife Center, where the materials will be preserved and made available to all Americans for generations. A portion of the documentation will also be available on the Library's Web site (www.loc.gov).

WHEN:
Saturday, June 26, 3 p.m. Project participants will be available for individual post-briefing interviews.

WHERE:
Marriott Hotel, Regent Room, 555 Canal St., New Orleans

BACKGROUND

Citizens from across the state of Louisiana are involved in Local Legacies projects that have been nominated by their U.S. Senator or Representative as being worthy of inclusion in the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, the largest such center in the United States.More than 600 projects nationwide will be submitted to the center, and a special event will be held at the Library in May 2000 to celebrate the contributions of the participants to this unprecedented undertaking. All members of Congress and all Local Legacies participants will be invited.

The Library of Congress, the world's largest library, will celebrate its Bicentennial on April 24, 2000 (www.loc.gov/bicentennial), as the oldest federal cultural institution in America. Local Legacies is the centerpiece of this celebration. At press time, Louisianans were working on nine documentary projects, representing this state's rich cultural diversity (list attached). Louisiana's Local Legacies participants will be on hand to describe their projects and show samples of their documentary efforts so far.

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PR 99-093
6/21/99
ISSN 0731-3527