July 8, 1999 Fact Sheet: Library of Congress Bicentennial Celebration Local Legacies

Press Contact: Guy Lamolinara (202) 707-9217

Americans throughout the nation, together with their congressional representatives and local and state libraries, will have an opportunity to join the Library's celebration of its Bicentennial by participating in special projects such as Local Legacies. The project is designed to involve citizens nationwide -- working through their congressional representatives -- in documenting events and activities that have particular cultural importance for local communities. Participants' records of their activities, preserved in photographs or sound and video recordings, will become part of the permanent collections of the Library's American Folklife Center in 2000. The Library will share a portion of these gifts from across the nation by making them electronically available through its National Digital Library Program.

With the assistance of members of Congress and their staffs, Local Legacies will involve libraries, folklife organizations and other cultural institutions in documenting the cultural heritage that makes this nation unique. Creators of Local Legacies projects will be invited to Washington for a celebration of their gifts to the nation in May 2000. Projects must be completed by December 1999.

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PR 99-056b
1999-07-09
ISSN 0731-3527