Louisiana

Visit the Louisiana Center for the Book's website

Mission Statement

The Louisiana Center for the Book was established in the State Library of Louisiana in 1994 for the purpose of stimulating public interest in reading, books and libraries. It is the official state affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. The Center works to accomplish its mission in three ways: by developing, sponsoring and coordinating statewide reading enrichment programs for children; by identifying and nurturing the objectives of Louisiana’s writers, publishers and others involved in the creation and promotion of books; and by encouraging Louisianans to read by presenting or sponsoring public presentations by accomplished authors, thus enabling the public to interact with living authors, particularly at the Louisiana Book Festival and annual programs such as Black History Month, Women’s History Month and National Poetry Month events.

Director

Jim Davis, Executive Director
jdavis@slol.lib.la.us

Mailing address

State Library of Louisiana
701 North 4th Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
225-342-9714

Website

URL: http://www.state.lib.la.us/literacy-and-reading/louisiana-center-for-the-book external link

Parent Institution

State Library of Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

State Authors and/or Literary map

Louisiana Writer Award: http://louisianabookfestival.org/louisiana_writer_award.html external link

Videos

• Louisiana Book Festival external link
• 2022 Black History Month Program: “Telling Their Stories: Trailblazing Black Women Writers in Louisiana” external link
• Former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith visited Thibodaux, Louisiana, as part of her 2018 “American Conversations” tour, sponsored by the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress in conjunction with the Louisiana Center for the Book at the State Library of Louisiana with the support of Lafourche Parish Public Library and the National Park Service.  external link
• “Just Listen to Yourself: A Retrospective”: Celebrating 10 years of "Just Listen to Yourself: The Louisiana Poet Laureate Presents Louisiana Poets." external link
• “Read Around the States” interview with author William Joyce, discussing his inspiration for “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” and other career highlights with Jim Davis, Executive Director, Louisiana Center for the Book.  external link
• Read Around the States with Louisiana’s U. S. Senator Bill Cassidy, author William Joyce, and Louisiana Center for the Book Executive Director Jim Davis “Louisiana: The Fantastic Flying Book of Mr. Morris Lessmore
• 2023 Black History Month, Bernice Alexander Bennett, “Black Homesteaders of the South” external link
• 2023 Women’s History Month, Miki Pfeffer, “Writing Women at the Fair in New Orleans, 1884-85” external link

Great Reads from Great Places

• Monumental: Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana” by Brian K. Mitchell (2021) external link
• “When I Was an Alligator” with Gayle Webre (2022) external link
• “Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Back Brotherhood” by Fatima Shaik (2022) external link

Photo Gallery