"Flexible, catalytic and opportunistic."
So said John Y. Cole, director of the Library's Center for the Book in describing the center and its network of 29 state centers throughout the nation. Dr. Cole delivered his remarks during the Center for the Book's Idea Exchange Day on April 18. Each year, state center coordinators and other representatives gather to share ideas, describe recent achievements and discuss future reading promotion and book culture projects at the state and regional level.
Dr. Cole explained that since its inception in 1977 the national center has established a variety of relationships with corporate and philanthropic organizations. Examples include the center's long-running collaboration with the CBS television network, which has coproduced and aired more than 400 30-second reading promotion spots since 1979, and philanthropist Walter Annenberg's recently announced $1 million endowment for the center, which will be named after Librarian Emeritus Daniel J. Boorstin.
Dr. Cole pointed out that state centers are also seeking -- and finding -- support from organizations that share their commitment to books and reading.
"During my visit to Oxford, Miss., on April 8 for the Oxford Conference on the Book, I encouraged a proposal for a Mississippi Center for the Book," he said. "The plan is for the center to support statewide literacy efforts, to promote and encourage Mississippi authors and readers, and to highlight new technologies of the book."
Describing the new Idaho Center for the Book, which is housed at Boise State University, Dr. Cole praised its recent exhibit on Idaho books and book history. The center is also filming reminiscences by Idaho book designers and authors. "The exhibit is called 'Missing Pages,' a reference to the fact that many Idahoans know little or nothing about their own book culture," Dr. Cole explained. He mentioned other university initiatives, such as Pennsylvania State University's Center for the History of the Book, which is loosely allied with the Library of Congress's center, and emerging book history programs at universities in North Carolina and Wisconsin that may benefit state centers.
During the series of panel discussions that followed, the state center representatives discussed a variety of topics such as how to recruit and motivate effective board members, networking opportunities and fund-raising techniques.
Many state center directors stressed the importance of recruiting board members who would contribute significantly to the center's programs and be willing to raise funds for the organization.
"What is your relationship with other organizations in the state?" asked Jean Trebbi director and founder of the first state center for the book, in Florida. "Are there any legal considerations connected with how your board is set up? Do you have the flexibility to change?" She stressed the importance of keeping a center's governing board small -- not more than 20 members -- and composed of those who are willing to spearhead activities.
Several representatives from large states cited board members' reluctance to travel long distances to attend meetings, a problem that limits the public's participation in state center events as well. Ann Hamilton, director of the Oklahoma center solved this problem by asking distant board members to attend only planning meetings for events to be held in their locales, and others suggested holding teleconferenced meetings. Scheduling statewide sites for traveling exhibitions, asking authors from throughout the state to participate in book readings and signings and featuring them on literary maps could also be a unifying influence, many agreed.
Growing interest in electronic communication and production techniques dominated much of the discussion. Beverly Bagan, director of the Virginia state center, invited Poet Laureate Rita Dove to teach a poetry class on-site to children in Charlottesville and by teleconference to another group in Norton, a small community in the westernmost part of Virginia. Produced by the University of Virginia, the event was held in the University's Rotunda and will be viewed in hundreds of classrooms throughout the United States.
Other speakers stressed the importance of maintaining data bases of information. Mary Birmingham, coordinator of the Minnesota Center for the Book, displayed a sample disk that contains information about state authors and contains local history accounts. "For the $115 it cost to produce the CD, we can give people a valuable glimpse into their literary heritage and preserve material that might otherwise be lost," said Ms. Birmingham.
Discussing fund-raising projects, Kimberly Taylor, coordinator of the Colorado Center for the Book, described the promotional opportunities the state center's annual Rocky Mountain Book Festival offers corporate sponsors. By selling booth space to booksellers, holding a celebrity book auction and listing Coors Brewing Co. and other organizations as cosponsors of events in return for donations and in-kind services, the center paid for the event without charging admission to its more than 35,000 attendees.
Throughout the day, those present discussed the need for increased cooperation between state centers and involvement by corporate, federal and philanthropic organizations that could contribute to and benefit from each center's activities. A different call to action came from Virginia Matthews, a consultant on reading promotion issues, who urged the state centers, many of which are connected with state libraries, to become more involved with legislative efforts to improve "not only children's literacy but family & literacy."
