The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress

"The book that made the greatest difference in my life was THE SECRET IN THE DAISY by Carol Grace, published in 1955. The difference it made was enormous. It took me from a miserable, unhappy wretch to a joyful, glad-to-be-alive human. I fell so in love with the book that I searched out and married the girl who wrote it." ²

WALTER MATTHAU. Los Angeles, California

In response to a proposal from Librarian of Congress Daniel J. Boorstin, the U.S. Congress established the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in I977. Representative Lucien N. Nedzi of Michigan and Senator Ho- ward Cannon of Nevada, the chairman and vice-chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, sponsored the legislation. With enactment of Public Law 95-I29, approved on October 13, 1977, the Congress affirmed its belief in the importance of the book and the printed word and endorsed a program "to investigate the transmission and diffusion of human knowledge." President Jimmy Carter approved the legislation as an indication of his "commitment to scholarly research and to the development of public interest in books and reading." At the first gathering of the Center for the Book's National Advisory Board, Librarian Boorstin introduced the new Center by saying:

You may wonder why the Library of Congress which, of all places on earth, is a center for the book, should now become a place for the establishing of the Center for the Book. It is to organize, focus, and dramatize our nation's interest and attention on the book, to marshal the nation's support-spiritual, physical, and fiscal-for the book.

The Times call for it. Why? Because this is a multimedia, electronic, media-ridden, annual-model age.

The Place is here. This institution has a greater vested interest in the book than any other place on earth. For us, the book is not only a vested interest but a vested idea. Because we at the Library of Congress collect knowledge and entertain- ment resources in all media-in film and on tape, on phonograph records and on motion pictures, in manuscript, from radio and television, on maps-as well as in books, and we have the world's greatest collections in these media; because we are the greatest copyright deposit in all formats; because we collect in all lan- guages (468 at the last count!), because we have been doing this for 177 years, and will go on for more centuries. Because of all this, we know, better than anyone else, the dangers of the book being stifled, drowned, suffocated, buried, obscured, mislaid,

misunderstood, ununderstood, unread-both from neglect and from the rising level of the increasing flood. Because we do serve the Congress, whose interests know no bounds, because we serve all libraries, scholars of all sorts and conditions, teachers, readers, quasi-readers, semi-readers, and even, we suspect non-readers.

As the national library of a great free republic, we have a special duty and a special interest to see that books do not go unread, that they are read by all ages and conditions, that books are not buried in their own excess, under their own dross, not lost from neglect nor obscured from us by specious alterna- tives and synthetic substitutes. As the national library of the most technologically advanced nation on earth, we have a special duty, too, to see that the book is the useful, illuminating servant of all other technologies, and that all other technologies become the effective, illuminating acolytes of the book.

The Library of Congress is our mission head- quarters, but we hope and expect to train and encourage mission- aries all over our nation. Unlike some other missions, this mission is explosively ecumenical. No other mission can be more ecumeni- cal. For the book is the most conservative and the most liberal, the most traditional and the most revolutionary of media, the most atheistical and the most reverential, the most retrospective, and the most futuristic. It is our duty to keep that mission energetically alive. The book is the reservoir of all the ideas that we have forgotten, and will be the reservoir for ideas still unborn.

Today we are here, encouraged by our Con- gress and our President, hosted by the greatest library on earth, to find ways to fill the special needs of our time and our nation, to seize the opportunities I have suggested, to find new opportu- nities, and to keep ourselves ready for still newer opportunities. Here we shape plans for a grand national effort to make all our people eager, avid, understanding, critical readers. To make this age, this nation, and this place the staging ground for a Renais- sance of the Book.

"The books of Horatio Alger,Jr., which are considered trash by many people, were an inspiration to me. They showed me that a boy who grew up in a family of very modest means, very limited income (which described our family very well), by working hard, by being honest and industrious, by associating with the right people, could achieve success. I was just a country boy with very little experience with the world. If I hadn't read, I wouldn't have gone on to an advanced education." ²

ROBERT B. DOWNS
Urbana, Illinois

The Center for the Book serves as a catalyst in focusing national attention on the importance of books, reading, and the written word. It is a cooperative endea- vor between the public and private sectors of American society. As indicated by the slogans of its reading promotion projects, slogans such as "Books Make a Difference," "A Nation of Readers," and "Readers are Leaders," it attempts to reach the largest possible audience.

* an informal, voluntary organization funded primarily by contri-
butions from individuals, corporations, and foundations
* nonpartisan, with no official connection to the publishing
community and no official government policy role
* project oriented but dependent on other organizations to turn
its ideas into programs
* wide ranging and interdisciplinary in its interests, drawing on
the resources of the Library of Congress and other organiza-
tions for a varied program of activities for both general and
scholarly audiences.

The Center's staff consists of only an executive director and a staff assistant, but it draws on the specialists and collections of the Library of Congress whenever appropriate. Another unique resource is the Center's National Advisory Board, whose volunteer members contribute ideas, participate in projects and symposia, and on occasion represent the Center for the Book at events outside Washington, D.C. The current chairman is Simon Michael Bessie, director, Harper & Row Publishers.

In carrying out its mission, the Center for the Book brings together members of the book, educational, and business communities for projects and symposia. It also sponsors publications, lectures, visiting scholars, exhibits, and events that enhance the role of the book in our society.

"MANCHILD IN THE PROMISED LAND by Claude Brown was an eye-opener for a middle-class white college freshman from a California suburb. It shook me loose from the time and place I grew up in. This vivid account of life in an urban black environment made me realize that so much that is human is universal. It showed me that love and beauty and excitement and integrity flourish in places I never dreamed of." ²

DAVID WRIGHT
New York City

Using television and radio to encourage people to read has been one of the Center's major motifs. The Center, with help from its National Advisory Board, is continu- ally seeking ways to make other media "the appetizer for the library and for the whole world of books."

"Read More About It," a joint endeavor of the Library of Congress and CBS Television, was the first result of this new alliance. Inaugurated in the I979-8o television season, "Read More About It" has recruited more than seventy well- known stars of major prime-time CBS Television specials to pre- sent thirty-second messages promoting books and reading at the end of their shows. Millions of viewers have seen and heard such stars as Cicely Tyson, Christopher Reeve, Helen Hayes, Johnny Cash, Mickey Rooney, Jean Stapleton, Henry Fonda, and even Mickey Mouse and Charlie Brown invite viewers to visit local libraries and bookstores to read books on the show's subject, books suggested by the Library of Congress. CBS provides air time for the spot messages and promotes the project nationally through film clips, posters, and bookmarks. The Center for the Book coordinates the project, which has as its slogan: "Linking the Pleasure, Power, and Excitement of Books and Television."

A 1983 symposium on "Radio and Read- ing" led to the expansion of "Read More About It" to sports broadcasts on CBS Network Radio. More than 20 million base- ball fans tuned to the All-Star game heard sportscaster Brent Musberger's first 6o-second message, which sent listeners to their local libraries and bookstores to "Read More About" base- ball. Other messages were heard during the World Series. Books about football are suggested during broadcasts of professional football games, including the Super Bowl.

Cap'n 0. G. Readmore, an animated, smart cat who knows a lot because he reads a lot, is the Center's reading promotion personality made public in cooperation with ABC Television. Cap'n Readmore, who promotes reading and the pleasure of good books during ABC's children's and family

programming schedule, premiered in September 1983. He also appears on posters, bookmarks, and other print materials pub- lished for schools, libraries, and bookstores.

"Books Make a Difference," another Center for the Book national reading promotion project, strengthens the book connection-but on a more personal, in- trospective level. Three hundred residents of fifty different com- munities across the United States were interviewed to determine what books had played a role in shaping their lives. Thought- provoking responses provide ample evidence of the importance of books and reading to citizens at every level of American society. The Center is now encouraging libraries and schools to incorporate the Books Make a Difference idea into their own activities. In 983 Xerox Education Publications received a grati- fying response from schools around the country when it spon- sored, in cooperation with the Center for the Book, a national Books Make a Difference essay contest for grade-school students. In 1984, the 86-branch Toronto (Ontario) Public Library system is using Books Make a Difference as its central theme in publiciz- ing library services. The Ventura (California) County Library's Books Make a Difference program, launched during National Library Week, included a slide-tape presentation at the 1984 Ventura County Fair.

"I lived, ate, and breathed my law firm. I lived a vertical life-al- ways up, up, up the ladder. Then Erich Fromm's ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM literally saved my sanity. It told me who I was and what my problem was. It told me how to start living again. I read the first chapter and said to myself, "My God, he's writing about me." Then I never put the book down, I didn't even eat, until I finished it." ²

MARCUS COHN
Washington, D.C.

"It just happened that I read THE FORSYTE SAGA by John Galsworthy when I needed it. The book opened up the world to me in the strangest way. It was the first time I realized that my parents had an emotional life entirely separate from mine. Until that moment, I was overly dependent on my parents, but after it, I moved off into my own life. It was just magic." ²

ANNE BERNAYS
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Books, reading, and education have been recurrent themes in several national symposia sponsored by the Center with assistance from other organizations. "Television, the Book, and the Classroom" featured board members Mor- timer Adler and Frank Stanton discussing uses of television in the classroom and its more general effects on culture and learn- ing. "Reading in America 1978" was a forum to discuss the findings of a study of American reading and book-buying habits sponsored by the Book Industry Study Group. The survey is being updated in 1984. Textbook authorship, adoption, and cur- rent issues in textbook publishing were central topics at a sympo- sium on "The Textbook in American Society." A program enti- tled "The State of the Book World" featured talks by critic Alfred Kazin, publisher Dan Lacy, and former U.S. Commissioner of Education Ernest L. Boyer. Advisory Board member Barbara Tuchman's lecture "The Book" was cosponsored by the Center and the Authors League of America, as was another lecture, "The Book Enchained," by Harrison E. Salisbury.

In September 1983, the Center for the Book brought authors, librarians and government officials to- gether for an objective discussion of public lending right-the notion that authors are entitled to be compensated for the multiple use of their books in libraries. The symposium explored how public lending right works in the ten countries in which it is in effect and ways in which the concept might or might not be workable in the United States.

Publishing, book production, and libra- ries are natural concerns of the Center for the Book. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AMERICAN BOOK COMMUNITY (1981) brings together papers presented by publishers, book- sellers, and scholars at two Library of Congress seminars. Another Center publication, IN CELEBRATION: THE NATIONAL UNION CATALOG: PRE-1956 IMPRINTS (1981) marked the completion, in 754 volumes, of that monumental publishing project. The Center is also working with the Library of Congress Preserva-

tion Office to increase awareness of the serious problem of deteriorating book paper and bindings. Two forums with Friends of Libraries U.S.A. have explored "Good Ideas for Friends Groups."

In what activities is it most likely that the book will be supplemented or even supplanted by new technolo- gies? What are the unique functions of the book and how will they be perpetuated? What new roles are likely to be created for the book by new technologies? These are the key questions being explored in a one-year study of tie role of the book in the future being undertaken by the Center for the Book in response to a concurrent resolution approved by the U.S. Congress in the fall of 1983. Drawing on the ideas and knowledge of a national advisory committee of experts in education, publishing, librarian- ship, and the new technologies, the Center will present a report to the Congress by December 1984. A second but related re- search study, sponsored by the Center for the Book in response to a request from UNESCO's Division for Book Promotion and International Exchanges, concerns the effects of new technolo- gies on book distribution.

Children's literature is a lively, vital sector of the book world. In cooperation with the Children's Literature Center in the Library of Congress, the Center for the Book has sponsored programs on "Broadcasting Books to Young Audi- ences," Scandinavian children's books today, and the audience for children's books. Authors who have presented the annual Children's Book Week lecture include Jill Paton Walsh, Elaine Konigsburg, Peter Dickinson, Natalie Babbitt, Astrid Lindgren, and Madeleine L'Engle.

The family-school partnership was the subject of a 1981 conference-"Reading and Successful Living"- hosted by the Center for the Book. Speakers included Robert Andringa, Executive Director of the Education Commission of the States; Mrs. George Bush, wife of the Vice President of the United States; and representatives from the National PTA, Inter-

national Reading Association, American Association of School Administrators, and American Association of School Librarians, which cosponsored the meeting.

The role of books in promoting interna- tional understanding has been reflected in several Center for the Book activities. The Library's Asian Division and the Center co- sponsored an international symposium, "Japanese Literature in Translation." With the U.S. Information Agency, the Center sponsored a three-week program on "The International Flow of Information: A Trans-Pacific Perspective." Seventeen guests from twelve East Asian and Pacific countries participated. The results of an inventory of book programs sponsored by U.S. government agencies, intergovernmental organizations, and U.S. private or- ganizations were published by the Center in U.S. INTERNA- TIONAL BOOK PROGRAMS 1981.

Why has the role of U.S. books abroad diminished since the 1960s and what can be done about it? Pub- lishing consultant Curtis G. Benjamin addressed these questions in U.S. BOOKS ABROAD: NEGLECTED AMBASSADORS, published by the Center in early 1984. Mr. Benjamin concluded that a greater national effort to fulfill the need for U.S. books in developing countries is imperative, for reasons "both of societal morality and of enlightened self-interest." In his view, American policymakers "must be shown that the U.S. book abroad is far more than an ordinary commercial commodity-that it is, in fact, in the van- guard of all our battles to improve our nation's present position and its future relations with all countries of the world."

"To THE LIGHTHOUSE made me identify and sympathize with Virginia Woolf She had such handicaps. She had physical problems. She had such sorrow. She was peculiar. It makes your own problems not so enormous if you can look back on somebody who's produced despite so many drawbacks in her life." ²

MARGARET WAINWRIGHT
Seattle, Washington

The history of books, which has devel- oped into a distinct field of study in the past two decades, merges traditional bibliographic studies with social history, drawing on all aspects of the book, physical and intellectual. The Center for the Book encourages the historical and interdiscipli- nary study of books through symposia, projects, and lectures. Most of its projects naturally focus on the rich collections of the Library of Congress, collections that reflect both the importance of books in all cultures and the relationship of books to other means of communication.

The Engelhard Lecture Series on the Book, a commissioned series of public lectures by prominent scholars, deals with the historical relationship of books, reading, and the printed word to society. Engelhard lecturers have in- cluded Nicolas Barker, Philip Hofer, Elizabeth Eisenstein, Edwin Wolf 2nd, Ian Willison, Robert Damton, Dan H. Laurence, James D. Hart, and William P. Barlow, Jr. Publications of special interest to historians include Ian Willison's ON THE HISTORY OF LIBRARIES AND SCHOLARSHIP (1980) and THE 1812 CATALOGUE OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: A FACSIMILE, which includes an essay by Robert A. Rutland on the importance of books to America's first Congressmen. THE EARLY ILLUSTRATED BOOK: ESSAYS IN HONOR OF LESSING J. ROSENWALD, based on a 1980 symposium sponsored with the Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Division, was cited by the American Institute of Graphic Arts as one of the best-designed books of 1982. LITERACY IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (1983), based on presen- tations at another Center for the Book symposium, was edited by historian Daniel Resnick.

"When I was about fifteen, I discovered Thomas Wolfe. I think I memorized LOOK HOMEWARD ANGEL, that wonderfully written novel of family life in a southern town. I would stop strangers and read it to them on the street. I was obsessed with it. It was all I thought about for several years. I thought Pd discovered writing. When I first read it, I knew very well I wanted to be an actor. By the time I grew out of it, I was an actor." ²

TONY RANDALL
New York City

The Center's plans range from a sympo- sium on "Book Reviewing in the Electronic Age" to a guide to resources for the study of the history of books in the Library of Congress. A national, public service advertising campaign to encourage reading and the reading habit is being planned, along with annual "Celebrations of the Book." The 1983 celebration explored the genre of biography. The use of cable television to promote reading is being explored. In October 1984, with the Library's Geography and Map Division, the Center will sponsor a major international symposium entitled "Images of the World: The Atlas Through History."

The principal challenge for the future is to carry the Center's program to a larger and more varied audi- ence. In an age dominated by information and electronics, we must continually remind ourselves that ours is a Nation of Readers, built on words and ideas communicated mostly through the printed page. New technologies must be combined with older traditions to keep the book flourishing. Above all, in the words of Librarian of Congress Daniel J. Boorstin, we must "raise a citizenry who are qualified to choose their experience for themselves, from the books past and present, and so secure the independence that only the reader can enjoy."

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress is a cooperative effort between the public and the private sectors. The Library of Congress provides administrative support, but approximately two-thirds of the Center's current annual operating budget of $175,000 must come from private, tax-deductible gifts. The Center's first activities were supported primarily by generous gifts from Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard, McGraw-Hill, Inc., Time, Inc., and the Franklin Book Programs, Inc. Since then individuals, corporations, and foundations have joined the initial donors to make possible the diverse program and publications described in this brochure. Additional sup- porters are needed, however, to continue the present program and especially to initiate new and innovative projects.

READING IN AMERICA 1978.
1979. 98 p. $4.95.
Catalog Record

A NATION OF READERS.
1982. 11 p.
Catalog Record

READING AND SUCCESSFUL LIVING-
THE FAMILY PARTNERSHIP.
1983. 161 p.
The Shoe String Press. $11.50.
Catalog Record

BOOKS THAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE:
WHAT PEOPLE TOLD US.
1983. 200 p.
The Shoe String Press. $13.50.
Catalog Record

Books in Contemporary Society

TELEVISION,
THE BOOK, AND THE CLASSROOM. 1978.
128 p. $4.95.
Catalog Record

THE BOOK.
1980. 29 p. $2.95
Catalog Record

THE AUDIENCE
FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS. 1980.
Catalog Record
42 p.

GRESHAM'S LAW: KNOWLEDGE OR INFORMATION?
1980. 6 p.
Catalog Record

THE STATE OF THE BOOK WORLD 1980.
1981. 31 p.
Catalog Record

THE WORLD ENCOMPASSED.
(Treasures of the Library of Congress)
1981. 11 p.
Catalog Record

THE TEXTBOOK IN AMERICAN SOCIETY.
1981. 68 p. $5.95.
Catalog Record

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE
AMERICAN BOOK COMMUNITY.
1981. 88 p. $7.95.
Catalog Record

THE INTERNATIONAL FLOW OF INFORMATION:
A TRANS-PACIFIC PERSPECTIVE.
1981. 47 p.
Catalog Record

U.S. INTERNATIONAL BOOK PROGRAMS 1981.
1982. 61 p.
Catalog Record

U.S. BOOKS ABROAD: NEGLECTED AMBASSADORS.
1984. 95 p.
Catalog Record

BOOK COLLECTING:
PERSONAL REWARDS AND PUBLIC BENEFITS.
(In press).
Catalog Record

THE BOOK ENCHAINED.
1984 9 p.
Catalog Record

The History of Books

THE CIRCLE OF KNOWLEDGE.
(Encyclopedias Past and Present)
1979. 47 p.
Catalog Record

ON THE HISTORY
OF LIBRARIES AND SCHOLARSHIP.
1980. 25 p.
Catalog Record

IN CELEBRATION:
THE NATIONAL UNION CATALOG, PRE-I956 IMPRINTS.
1981. 49 p. $5.95.
Catalog Record

THE 1812 CATALOGUE OF
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: A FACSIMILE.
1982. 141 p. $15.
Catalog Record

THE EARLY ILLUSTRATED BOOK:
ESSAYS IN HONOR OF LESSING J. ROSENWALD.
1982. 260 p. $50.
Catalog Record

A PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR
AS A BIBLIOGRAPHY.
1983. 19 p.
Catalog Record

LITERACY IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE.
1983. 170 p. $8.
Catalog Record (Conference Papers)
Catalog Record (Sound Recording)

BOOKS IN ACTION:
THE ARMED SERVICES EDITIONS.
(In press).
Catalog Record

A ROUNCEVAL INDULGENCE:
UNRECORDED PRINTING BY WILLIAM CAXTON.
(In press).
See Catalog Record

FINE PRINTING:
THE SAN FRANCISCO TRADITION.
(In press).
Catalog Record

Simon Michael Bessie, Chairman

Individuals

23

Organizations

Action for Children's Television
Peggy Charren

American Booksellers Association
Bernard E. Rath

AFL-CIO
Dorothy Shields

American Institute of Graphic Arts
Carolyn Hightower

American Library Association
Peggy Barber

Antiquarian Booksellers

Association of America
John H.Jenkins

Association of American
Publishers
Townsend Hoopes

Association of American
University Presses, Inc.
Frances Gendlin

Authors League of America
Barbara W. Tuchman

The Children's Book Council
John Donovan

Children's Television Workshop
Edward L. Palmer

Council on Library Resources Inc.
Warren J. Haas

Friends of Libraries U.S.A.
Joan Hood

International Reading Association
Ralph C. Staiger

Modern Language Association
Hans Rutimann

National Commission on Libraries
and Information Science
Toni Carbo Bearman

National Council of Teachers of
English
Edmund J. Farrell

National Endowment for the Arts
Francis S. M. Hodsoll

National Endowment for the
Humanities
William Bennett

National Humanities Center
Charles Blitzer

The National PTA
Grace Baisinger

P.E.N. American Center
Karen Kennerly

Poets and Writers
Elliot Figman

Reading is Fundamental, Inc.
Ruth Graves

Special Libraries Association
David R. Bender

Television Information Office
Roy Danish

U.S. Department of Commerce
William Lofquist

U.S. Department of Education
Ray Fry

U.S. Information Agency
Guy Brown

Addison-Wesley Publishing
Company

ABC Entertainment

The Baker & Taylor Company

The Book-of-the-Month Club

CBS Educational and Professional
Publishing

CBS Television Network

Crown Books

R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company

Doubleday & Company, Inc.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Exxon Education Foundation

Gale Research Company

Ginn and Company

Grolier Educational Corporation

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.

Harper & Row Publishers, Inc.

Hearst Corporation

Houghton Mifflin Company

Ingram Book Company

International Thomson
Holdings, Inc.

Macmillan, Inc.

Marquis Who's Who

McGraw-Hill, Inc.

The New York Times Company
Foundation

Prentice-Hall International, Inc.

Random House, Inc.

Reader's Digest

The Scribner

Book Companies, Inc.

Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Time, Inc.

The Times-Mirror Company

Waldenbooks

The Washington Post Company

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Xerox Publishing Group

Walter H. Annenberg
Brooke Astor
Simon Michael Bessie
Ruth Boorstin
Sophie and Arthur Brody
Marcus and Harryette Cohn
William H. Crouse
Jane Engelhard
Nancy E. Gwinn
Irwin T. Holtzman
Carl A. Kroch
Clare Boothe Luce
Stanley Marcus
George C. McGhee
Paul Mellon
Anne P. Ross
Alice and Leslie Schreyer
Damts C. Smith, Jr.
Frank Stanton
William B. Todd
Barbara W. Tuchman

²The other quotations which appear at the beginning of each section were gathered as part of Books Make A Difference, a reading promotion project sponsored by the Center for the Book.