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Thanks, Sharon! On Wed, Feb 24, 2021 at 4:20 PM Sharon Shaloo <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi, All, > > Sorry I went all history nerd today but I love the story of the network of > Centers for the Book and talk about it fairly regularly when I am raising > friends or funds. The CfB in LOC was established, as Rocco and Guy said, > by an Act of Congress. A pdf of the typed then photocopied and etc (and so > blurry!) Act is available here: > https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-91/pdf/STATUTE-91-Pg1151.pdf > > As I understood it from John Cole, the founding ideas for the Center were > twofold: one was that it would become an outreach mechanism for the > Library of Congress and two was that it would stimulate interest in books > and reading, by which was meant interest in the book as a material object > and reading as a lifelong cultural activity. At the time, John told me, > the thinking was that video was displacing reading and some advocacy for > book culture was necessary. Again, this was not a sense only in the US. > Other nations (primarily in Europe) were establishing national centers for > the book to understand the heritage of the written word in their languages > and cultures, as well. > > Initially the CfB in LOC was advised by a 100 member board, with two > representatives from each of the 50 states. John worked with that model > for 5 to 6 years, but he told me that it was impossible to get into the > states through that tructure, and the board was so large that it was not > easy to focus attentions, etc and so on. > > At any rate, at a library conference somewhere, he was talking with a > colleague from Florida, Jean Tebbe, about this conundrum, and it was she, > as John told me, who said, "I think I can help you." It was her idea that > instead of a centralized board, an affiliate network of state-based > organizations could bring LOC initiatives in to states and combine them > with home based projects all in service of the broad mandate to promote > books, reading, literacy and libraries. The Florida CfB was established in > 1984. > > Daniel Boorstin was still Librarian of Congress when I first started > attending the annual LOC meetings. He and his wife, Ruth, would come to > the meeting for an hour, most usually right after the luncheon. He was > someone whose histories I had read while an undergraduate and so meeting > him and getting to talk to him made an impression, for sure. > > At the time, the Center for the Book office in LOC was staffed by John > Cole, Maurveen Williams, Anne Boni, and Pat White (whom Staceya later > replaced when Pat retired). The Center was responsible for raising the > funds to cover some of those salaries, though. When Dr Billington came to > LOC he agreed to pay the staff salaries but John had to commit to > establishing a CfB in each of the 50 states ... I believe it was 2003 or > 2004 when the network was fully formed. > > Massachusetts was the 38th Center for the Book, affiliated officially on > Jan 1, 2000. When I first came to the meetings, the founding > director/coordinator for nearly all of the centers was still active and so > there was a lot to learn those folk. Some of the standouts were Nancy > Pearl (WA), Sally Anderson (VT), Frannie Ashburn (NC), Kat (surname escapes > me!, CT, then at Hartford PL), Glenda Carlile (OK), Mary Kay Dahlgreen > (OR), Gail Bialas (TX, then at Dallas Public), .... the list goes on. > Steve Herb (PA), Sid Berger (CA), and I all started in the same year, > 2000. Susan Coleman (VA) arrived at just about this time, IIRC. Renee > Schwartz (NJ) and Mary Russell (NH) joined the fold fairly early in the > 2000s, as well. > > It would be good to try to capture a history of the CfB network before > memory fades too much in our states, commonwealths, districts, territories > and/or protectorates. > > I'll return to my rocking chair now ... > > Sharon > > ********* > Sharon Shaloo, Executive Director > Mass Center for the Book > [log in to unmask] > 617.872.3718 (office) > massbook.org > -- *Josephine Jones* Director of Programs & Center for the Book [log in to unmask] | coloradohumanities.org | 303.894.7951 x15 Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/> Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/cohumanities/> Twitter <https://twitter.com/cohumanities> YouTube <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4cOF59Ju74mHeiO3M_z1QQ> *Change in Rural Colorado* Innovation and Resiliency in the COVID Era Experts present, participants talk with them February 24, 6 - 8 p.m. Online Register <https://coloradohumanities.org/programs/change-in-rural-colorado/>