The Center for the Book has received the American Printing History Association's annual Institutional Award. Presented at New York Public Library on Jan. 29, during the association's annual meeting, the award recognizes the Center for the Book's "services in advancing understanding of the history of printing and its allied arts."
The Center for the Book's lecture and publication programs were specifically cited. Since 1978 the center has sponsored publication of more than 25 books and 50 pamphlets, many of them focusing on the history of books and printing. The books include The Early Illustrated Book: Essays in Honor of Lessing J. Rosenwald, edited by Sandra Hindman (1982); Fine Printing: The San Francisco Tradition, by James D. Hart (1985); The Printer & the Pardoner: An Unrecorded Indulgence Printed by William Caxton, by Paul Needham (1986); Fine Printing: The Los Angeles Tradition, by Ward Ritchie (1987); The History of Books: A Guide to Selected Resources in the Library of Congress, by Alice D. Schreyer (1987); and American Culture and the Marketplace: R.R. Donnelley's Four American Books Campaign, by Claire Badaracco (1992).
In accepting the award on behalf of the center, Director John Y. Cole acknowledged the advice and support the center has received through the years from Library of Congress staff members, particularly Librarian of Congress Emeritus Daniel J. Boorstin, who created the center in 1977; Alan Fern, former chief of the Prints and Photographs Division and now director of the National Portrait Gallery; William Matheson, former chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division and his colleague Peter VanWingen; and Evelyn Sinclair of the Publishing Office.
He also thanked G. Thomas Tanselle of the Guggenheim Foundation, a member of the center's original National Advisory Board.
The recognition from the American Printing History Association is the fifth award the Center for the Book has received since its founding. The other citations have come from the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (1992); the Manhattan Council of the International Reading Association (1990); the White House Conference on Library and Information Services Task Force (1989); the International Book Committee (1987); and the National Education Association (1986).
Center Hosts Special Screening of "First Edition." In cooperation with WETA-TV, on Jan. 25, the Center for the Book hosted a reception and screening of the first program of "First Edition," a lively new half-hour weekly public television show that features news about books and authors. Sharon Rockefeller, WETA president and chief operating officer, and Dr. Cole welcomed 125 guests, including several members of Congress, who were on their way to President Clinton's State of the Union address in the Capitol.
Special guests at the event included Jim Lehrer, cohost with Robert MacNeil of WETA's "MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour," and his wife, author Kate Lehrer; PBS talk show host Charlie Rose, who hosted "First Edition's" pilot program; Bernard Rath, executive director of the American Booksellers Association; "First Edition's" founder and coexecutive producer, San Francisco business executive Stewart Heller; and Tony Tiano, past president of San Francisco's KQED.
"First Edition" is presented in an entertaining and informative format aimed at developing new audiences for books and reading. Cohosted by Charlie Rose and Shari Belafonte, it mixes current book world news with author interviews, previews of new books and reflections on books and the written word. The first program features correspondents Liz Smith and Robert MacNeil, authors Walter Mosley, Randy Shilts, Terry McMillan, Isabel Allende and illustrator Thacher Hurd. It has been previewed on KQED-TV, New York's WNET-TV and on WETA-TV.
Emmy Award-winner Bill Jersey is co-executive producer.
Five "First Edition" programs are in production, and the series will begin airing on public television stations around the country in May 1994. Edited versions of the programs will be rebroadcast on cable television and in educational settings. The series is seeking funding for a full year's programming in 1995.
The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, the National Arts Club of New York and the International Reading Association are three of the many organizations in "First Edition's" educational-outreach network. Copies of the first 30- minute program may be borrowed from the Center for the Book, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540. Information about the program and funding opportunities may be obtained from Tony Tiano, "First Edition," 450 Mission St., Room 201, San Francisco, CA 94105.
John MacDonald's Reading for Survival Reprinted. One of the last pieces of writing by the best-selling writer John D. MacDonald, &3Reading for Survival, has been reprinted by the Library of Congress under the sponsorship of the Center for the Book and the Florida Center for the Book.
This powerful affirmation of the importance of reading by one of America's favorite authors was commissioned by the Center for the Book in 1985 and finished only a few months before MacDonald's death. Since it appeared in 1987, it has become the most popular publication ever produced by the Center for the Book. After the first printing had been exhausted, the Book-of- the-Month Club produced a special edition for its members. The continuing demand has led to this edition, which is published with support from the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund as part of the Center for the Book's "Literary Heritage of the States" project.
Reading for Survival, a 26-page booklet designed by Adrianne Onderdonk Dudden, is available for a contribution of $15 to either the Center for the Book, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540, or the Broward Public Library Foundation, Florida Center for the Book, Broward County Library, 100 S. Andrews, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.
