"Westward Bound" is a traveling exhibition sponsored by the University of Utah's Marriott Library.
The Library of Congress has approved a proposal for a Utah Center for the Book that will be affiliated with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. It will be located at the Salt Lake City Public Library, where Library Director Nancy Tessman will serve as interim coordinator. The purpose of the Utah Center for the Book is "to celebrate, honor and promote interest in books, reading, and the literary and book arts culture and heritage of Utah and the West."
"We're delighted to welcome Utah to our growing network of affiliated state centers," said John Y. Cole, director of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. "Each state center brings a new dimension to our work and helps us reach new audiences at the grassroots level."
"Utah has a rich literary tradition and especially a growing interest in the book arts as part of our book and cultural heritage," said Ms. Tessman. "We are eager to develop new partnerships throughout Utah's entire community of the book." The advisory board for the new center includes representatives from the Utah Humanities Council, the Utah Arts Council, the Utah State Library and the University of Utah's Marriott Library, as well as writers, booksellers and publishers. Initial plans include support of the Great Salt Lake Book Fair and development of an annual statewide literary and book arts awards program.
For information about the Utah Center for the Book, contact Nancy Tessman, Director, Salt Lake City Public Library, 209 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 or call (801) 524- 8200.
Vermont Launches Its National Science Program. On Sept. 24-28, 1998, in Baltimore, in cooperation with Baltimore's Maryland Science Center, the Vermont Center for the Book hosted a national training workshop for representatives from the 12 states, plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, taking part in its Mother Goose Asks "Why?" family science and literature program. Funded through a $1.5 million three-year grant from the National Science Foundation, the program combines children's literature and science to help parents of preschool and primary-grade children use thought-provoking picture books, activities and discussion to learn basic science. LC Center for the Book director John Y. Cole is a member of the program's Advisory Panel. Seven states (Kansas, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia and Wyoming) are represented by their LC-affiliated state centers for the book. The other state participants are California, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Texas.
The institute's purposes included: providing materials and information to program participants; presenting opportunities for participants to engage in hands-on science activities and discussions of children's literature "to develop a common understanding and approach to program implementation"; and providing model activities and "engagements with literature" that fulfilled the goals of the Mother Goose Asks "Why?" program.
The Wyoming Center for the Book team works during the Mother Goose Asks "Why?" science training workshop.
"We feel great about the results of the workshop," said Wendy Martin of the Vermont Center for the Book. "The participants are moving ahead at full speed and the evaluation report, prepared by Learning Innovations of Stoneham, Mass., rated the workshop 'extremely successful.' We look forward to the next national workshop in Portland, Ore., in September 1999."
For further information, contact Wendy Martin, Vermont Center for the Book, 256 Haywood Road, Chester, VT 05143, telephone (802) 875-2751, fax (802) 875-2790, e-mail: wmartin@vermontbook.org.
Missouri Celebrates the Book. "The Literary vs. the Commercial: Books and Bucks" was the theme of the Missouri Center for the Book's
Second Celebration of the Book, held on April 3-4, 1998, on the campuses of Stephens College and the University of Missouri in Columbia. Nearly 500 book lovers convened for discussions of this theme by more than 30 panelists, who examined every angle of the problem, from book writing to publishing to marketing. Participants also enjoyed and profited from presentations by featured authors Paul Nagel (most recent book: John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life) and Jane Smiley (The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton). Plans have begun for the Third Celebration of the Book, to be held at the Stephens College campus in November 1999. The theme will be "the future of the book in an increasingly electronic society."
The Missouri center has developed two Web sites to acquaint citizens with the richness and diversity of
the state's literary scene. "Missouri Authors Directory (authors.missouri.org) is a searchable database that contains information on more than 300 authors living and working in Missouri. "Missouri Community of the Book" presents information on Missouri publishers, bookstores, literary organizations, literary magazines, newspapers and libraries.
Authors Jane Smiley (left) and Paul Nagel were featured at the Missouri Center for the Book's Second Celebration of the Book in April.
Further information is available in BookMarks, a new biannual and illustrated publication co-edited by Timothy J. Fox and Madeline Matson. The 12-page fall 1998 issue includes author interviews, articles about book discussion groups, book selling in St. Louis, book reviewing and electronic books, and thorough coverage of the Second Celebration of the Book. For information contact the Missouri center at P.O. Box 387, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0387, telephone (573) 751-2680; or visit the center's Web site.
Maine Receives $400,000 Grant. The Maine Humanities Council recently received a $400,000 four-year grant from the Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation to support the program of the Maine Center for the Book, a division of the council. "This generous grant helps expand delivery of our literacy programming for people of all ages," said council Executive Director Dorothy Schwartz. "It will enable us to reach more than 3,000 new families and individuals each year." Maine Center for the Book projects supported by the grant include "Born to Read" and "Prescription to Read," early literacy programs for families with young children; "New Books, New Readers," a book discussion program for adults who are new or infrequent readers; and "Family Scrapbooks," a program for the elderly that offers large-type books, audio books and the opportunity to relate personal family experiences to literature.
Kansas Sponsors Young Readers' Conference. The Kansas Center for the Book's fifth Kansas Young Readers' Conference took place at Fort Hays State University on Oct. 16 and 17, 1998. Thirty students in grades three to six met with seven writers and illustrators of books for young people — Lois Ruby, Anna Riphahn, Jack Gantos, Lisa Campbell Ernst, Christine Schneider, Cheryl Harness and Linda Hubaleck — to talk about how the authors wrote their books and how they got their inspiration. Lois Ruby also gave a writer's workshop for students in grades seven and eight. The conference co-sponsors included Fort Hays State University, McDonald's of Hays, the High Plains Reading Council, Friends of Kansas Libraries and the Hays Rotary Club. For further information, contact Germaine L. Taggert at: cugt@fhsu.edu or (785) 625-5707.
