The importance of letters, language and design in promoting reading and literacy is at the heart of "The Alphabet Project," a new cooperative effort of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA).
The partnership will celebrate the alphabet and the aesthetics of book design, and will stimulate appreciation of effective written communication. It also will foster creative thinking about using design and new media in communicating ideas and information. A primary focus will be on nurturing joint projects among the 30 state affiliates of the Center for the Book and the 37 AIGA chapters of graphic designers across the country.
According to John Y. Cole, director of the Center for the Book, and AIGA Executive Director Richard Grefe, initially the partnership will consist of four elements: exploring, explaining and demonstrating the importance of the alphabets of the world as keys to literacy and as extraordinary communication devices; developing alphabet-related exhibitions, publications, competitions and other projects; establishing joint programs recognizing the 50 best-designed books of each year through traveling exhibits and other projects, extending the tradition of the "50 Best Books Show" started by AIGA in 1917; and celebrating poetry in public places, in cooperation with other organizations, including the Poetry Society of America.
On Jan. 25-26 national and state representatives from the Center for the Book and AIGA and invited guests gathered for an idea exchange and planning session initiated and hosted by the Florida Center for the Book, located at the Broward County Library in Fort Lauderdale.
In addition to John Cole and Ric Grefe, participants included: Jean Trebbi, director of the Florida Center for the Book; Tom Weinkle, AIGA/Miami; Richard Venezky, College of Education, University of Delaware; Vicki Lockhart, coordinator of the California Center for the Book; Melanie Doherty, AIGA/San Francisco; Mary Tracey, coordinator, Minnesota Center for the Book; and Tom Trusky, director, Idaho Center for the Book.
All agreed that the first state projects will be developed in California, Florida and Minnesota. AIGA's exhibition of the 50 best-designed books of 1994 was displayed with an exhibit checklist prepared by the Florida Center for the Book.
The Center for the Book/AIGA Alphabet Project will continue at least through the year 2000. Sponsorship and funding for many of the individual projects will be sought from corporations and foundations that have a particular commitment to the written word and its future.
AIGA is a national nonprofit organization that was founded in 1914 to promote excellence in graphic design through competitions, exhibitions, publications, professional seminars, educational activities and a variety of public interest projects.
The Center for the Book was established in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books, reading and libraries and to encourage the study of books as artifacts, art forms and means of communication. Its projects are supported by contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations and funds transferred from other government agencies.
Eric Burns to Speak at the Library. Former NBC television news correspondent Eric Burns, author of The Joy of Books: Confessions of a Lifelong Reader (Prometheus Books, 1995) is the next speaker in the Center for the Book's "Books & Beyond" lunchtime author series. He will speak on "The Serious Reader in the Age of Technology" at noon on Tuesday, March 26, in the West Dining Room, Madison Building. It is open to the public.
At NBC News, Mr. Burns appeared regularly on the "Today" show and "NBC Nightly News." He is the author of Broadcast Blues: Dispatches from the Twenty-Year War between a Television Reporter and His Medium (HarperþCollins, 1993). He left TV journalism "when he found himself spending too much time with The Washington Post and not nearly enough with Thomas Hardy and Joseph Wambaugh." Mr. Burns concludes The Joy of Books with a list of 572 books "that have given me joy over the years."
Alaska Writers to Gather in April. The second annual Writers' Rendezvous, sponsored by the Alaska Center for the Book, will be held at the University of Alaska in Anchorage on April 12-13. A statewide celebration of books, authors and reading, this year's event is being planned in conjunction with Alaska Journalism Week, a project of the Alaska Press Club.
The Consortium of Northern Publishers also will participate in the program of workshops, readings, storytelling and opportunities for families to enjoy books, writing and the printed word. Under the leadership of its president, Sara Juday of Alaska Northwest Books, the Alaska Center for the Book has established a newsletter that serves as a clearinghouse for literary and cultural events throughout Alaska. An electronic version is available on the Alaska Center's World Wide Web homepage: http://www.alaskacenterforthebook.org/.
Through its active board of directors and the efforts of many volunteers, the center is focusing on five projects: creating a database of Alaskan authors, illustrators and book clubs; promoting Alaskan books and authors; sponsoring the Contribution to Literacy in Alaska awards; sponsoring the Writers' Rendezvous; and improving book donation and distribution in targeted Alaskan communities.
The mission of the Alaska center, which calls itself "a nonprofit organization celebrating the richness and diversity of language," is to "stimulate public interest in literacy, through the spoken and written word, as central to our understanding of ourselves and the world around us." It acts as a catalyst in bringing together the Alaska literary and book communities, which include readers, writers, booksellers, printers and publishers, educators and scholars, parents, broadcasters and media and librarians. The categories in the center's membership program range from "Book Buddy" ($5 a year), through "Page Turner" ($30 a year, which includes a subscription to the newsletter), to "Bibliomaniac" (a donation of $1,000).
For further information about the Center's programs, contact Sara Juday, President, Alaska Center for the Book, 3600 Denali St., Anchorage, AK 99503-6093, telephone (907) 278-8838, fax (907) 278-8839.
