A Call to Action!

The budgetary wrangling in Congress has gone from bad to worse, with potential cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities approaching $22 million. Don't let this happen! Contact your Congressman and make your voice heard. Here is a LINK to reach your representative.

Here is a message from Jim Leach, Chairman of the NEH:

"There are, of course, costs to all public programs, but the cost of not supporting some could be far higher. Just as we need an infrastructure of roads and bridges, we need an infrastructure of ideas. In a splintered world, bridging cultures may be our most difficult challenge."

Remember - for those who argue that we need to tighten our belts in tough, economic times - the total budget for the NEH is not even a drop in the bucket for the federal budget, and these cuts will literally make no difference in reducing our deficit. But these cuts will have a large and damaging impact on the communities that the NEH serves. So click the LINK and make your voice heard!

Help Save Public Humanities!

Dear friends,

This week, Congress is voting on a proposed $12 million cut to the National Endowment for the Humanities. There have also been some unfortunate rumblings about Congress eliminating the NEH from next year's federal budget altogether.

We cannot let this happen. Look, we understand that in tough economic times belts need to be tightened, but the NEH represents only 1/21,000 of the current federal budget. It is a drop in the bucket and will literally have no impact on reducing our deficit. But these cuts would have a huge impact and far-reaching consequences for the communities the NEH serves.

For such low cost, NEH funds programs benefit libraries, museums, veterans and VA hospitals, historians, educational filmmakers and educators. These are programs that strengthen our communities and enrich our lives, providing a core of learning that will help us as a nation face the problems of today and tomorrow. We need your support today!

How can you help? It's easy! Just click on this LINK and let your Congressional representative know that you support the humanities and the NEH. This will literally take 2 minutes.

For those of you who are worried your voice won't be heard, don't forget that the NEH fought a similar budget battle in the mid-1990s. And thanks to overwhelming public support, the NEH has been able to continue its strong work in our communities. So there is proof that your voice will be heard!


Thank you!!!

Soul of a People at ALA

SOUL OF A PEOPLE RETURNS TO ALA

Soul of a People: Writing America's Story made a return visit to this week's American Library Association Annual Conference, held this year in Washington DC.

Last year, ALA and Spark coordinated a NEH-funded Soul of a People library campaign that involved 29 libraries and nearly 150 events across the country. These host libraries held screenings of the film, along with discussion groups, panels and presentations from local scholars and authors, and exhibits connected with the Depression, New Deal and the Writers' Project. They also produced imaginative events such as recreated Hoovervilles and soup kitchens, old time live radio broadcasts, and more, giving each local community a chance to experience and understand their own history during this era.

We will be posting a round-up of activities and a video summary shortly. The video will also be available for library participants to download!

At ALA, Soul of a People's producer and director Andrea Kalin, Spark producer Nancy Camp and representatives from three of the host libraries were on hand to discuss the project and how it carried out at the local level. The librarians who participated were Henry Fortunato (Kansas City Public Library, Missouri), Jude Schanzer (East Meadow Public Library, New York) and Nora Quinlan (NOVA Southeastern Library, Florida). They shared their insights about the program, its challenges, and some of the creative ways the libraries used Soul of a People as a springboard for activities to reach diverse audiences at a local level.

Camp concluded with a brief outline of the work underway - a new youth-focused online educational initiative, being developed now with a grant from the NEH.