Texas Center for the Book Has New Home at State Library and Archives

"The Center for the Book in Washington looks forward to its new relationship with the Texas State Archives and Library Commission," said John Y. Cole, director of the center at the Library of Congress. "The Texas center has a long tradition of promoting the state’s unique literary heritage, and I have no doubt that will continue."

"We are very excited at the prospect of using the Center for the Book as a statewide platform to inform the public of the importance of books and reading and to urge Texans to take advantage of the huge resource for education, lifelong learning and cultural enrichment offered at their local libraries and archives," said TSLAC director and librarian Mark Smith. "We thank the Dallas Public Library for their excellent work with the center since its inception and look forward to maintaining the tradition of excellence that they have established."

The Texas center will support the shared mission of library professionals, educators, authors, publishers and booksellers by promoting a love of literature to the more than 26 million residents of the state of Texas. Initiatives slated for implementation include the Letters About Literature contest, in which students (grades 4-12) write to authors about how that writer's book affected the students personally. Letters are judged on state and national levels with awards of up to $1,000.

The public is invited to join the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for the launch of the Texas Center for the Book, featuring children’s author and illustrator Carmen Lomas Garza, local author Sarah Bird and young people’s author Pat Mora. The launch will be held at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building, 1201 Brazos St., on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 1 p.m.

For more information visit www.tsl.texas.gov/centerforthebook or contact Stephen Siwinski, communications officer, at ssiwinski@tsl.texas.gov or (512) 463-5514.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s first-established federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs, publications and exhibitions. The Library’s Center for the Book, established by Congress in 1977 to "stimulate public interest in books and reading," is a national force for reading and literacy promotion. A public-private partnership, it sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages through its affiliated state centers, collaborations with nonprofit reading promotion partners and through the Young Readers Center and the Poetry and Literature Center. FFor more information, visit www.Read.gov.