Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Library of Congress hosting free program Nov. 24 at Dallas Public Library

By Pegasus News wire

DALLAS — The Library of Congress will host a free educational program Monday, Nov. 24 at the Dallas Public Library that will bring to life the unique historic and cultural treasures contained in the Library of Congress. The public is invited to attend.

Library of Congress educational specialists will demonstrate how to use the Library's online primary resources in the classroom during the presentation entitled National Treasures, Local Treasures: The Library of Congress at Your Fingertips. The presentation will be from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at the Central Library, 1515 Young St. in the O'Hara Exhibit Hall, seventh floor. Those attending the program are invited to bring their laptop computers so they can experience some of the Library of Congress features first hand.

Dallas is one of only five cities in the country selected to host the interactive presentation highlighting the largest collection of the world's knowledge and America's creativity. The program will include a screening of a special feature available with the DVD for "National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets," filmed in part in the Library's extraordinary Thomas Jefferson Building. The film prominently featured the Library of Congress in its storyline. Ongoing exhibitions, interactive presentations, an inspiring multimedia "overture" on the collections and programs of the Library of Congress, and a continuing online educational experience can be found at http://www.loc.gov. The Dallas event is co-sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and the Texas Center for the Book in the Dallas Public Library.

"An exhibit of the Dallas Public Library's most rare offerings will enhance the local treasures element of the program," said Library Assistant Director Miriam Rodriguez. The local exhibit will feature selections from the Dallas Public Library's most significant treasures drawn from the approximately 3,000 volumes contained in the Fine Books collection. John Cole from the Library of Congress will present a facsimile copy of "Navigation Improvements Viewed from above the Sister City of Oak Cliff, 1892," a map of Dallas from the Library of Congress. A Shakespeare First Folio, the only extant copy of the Declaration of Independence west of the Mississippi and other extremely rare and beautiful pieces from the Library's Rare Book Collection will also be on display.

A large group of Texas authors will be invited to the evening and morning events, especially those involved in the Texas Center's annual Texas Latino Voices series. Representatives from the Texas Book Festival as well as state and local officials are also expected to attend.

The Library of Congress, the largest library in the world and the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, is the world's preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled resources to Congress and the American people. Founded in 1800, the Library seeks to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, which bring to bear the world's knowledge in almost all of the world's languages and America's private sector intellectual and cultural creativity in almost all formats.

Source: City of Dallas

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