Center for the Book

Center for the Book, an organization established within the United States Library of Congress to promote, protect, and preserve the idea of the book, as well as to foster reading and literacy. The Center was founded in 1977 during a period when traditional concepts of literacy were expanding owing to the proliferation of new media formats. One of its original tasks was to further the scholarship of book history. Over time, the Center has grown into an important vehicle for outreach and literacy education, provided through national programming and a network of affiliated centers.

Given the rapid spread of non-book media since the 1970s, the establishment of an organization devoted to promoting books became increasingly relevant, not just for historical but also for sociocultural purposes. Books, both before and after the invention of the printing press in 1440, have served as an important means of literary communication for more than 2,000 years. Naturally, the definition of what constitutes a book is elastic and debatable, but the idea, for the purposes of the Center, is now less about the object of a book and more about the use of reading material and the promotion and support of literacy.

The Center supports several programs, campaigns, and subcenters that serve the general public and specific groups such as children and young adults. Its activities are aimed not only at promoting literacy in an accessible way but also at raising awareness of the need for literacy education in the United States and abroad.

Discover how ordinary objects work, and expand your understanding of the familiar.

SIGN UP

" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">

Thank you for signing up!"

Back to homepage

By clicking "Sign Up", you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

History

Situated within the U.S. Library of Congress, the Center for the Book was founded in 1977 following a burgeoning interest among many academic communities in the history, preservation, and social significance of books. This interest, which correlated with the release of the 1976 English translation of Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin’s The Coming of the Book, had been growing for several years and attempted to fill a vacuum in the direct, critical study of the book as both a medium and an object. Library administrators determined that, while the Library of Congress had a solid foundation as a repository of knowledge, it also needed to be an active purveyor of knowledge and a source for directed learning. After Librarian of Congress Daniel J. Boorstin helped establish the Center, he named John Y. Cole its inaugural director.

In the 1980s, just a few years after the founding of the Center—and perhaps an indicator of the Center’s necessity—affiliate centers began appearing across the United States. The idea for state affiliate centers was broached by administrators of the Broward County Library system in Florida, who proposed to form a local affiliate to aid in promoting state literacy initiatives. Affiliate centers were subsequently established in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. These affiliate centers have become crucial components of the Center’s national activities, and they provide local context and appeal to literacy and book scholarship.

Since the late 1980s, the Center for the Book has received international attention. In 1987, it received an International Book Award from the International Book Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It was during this time that the Center became increasingly active in international literacy campaigns and research, often partnering with similar centers around the world to promote nearly identical programs. The Center has hosted or officially participated in many international conferences with ties to literacy organizations around the world, such as the National Library of South Africa, the Warsaw International Book Festival, and the Open Society Institute in Moscow. Several literacy organizations have been established around the world in direct response to the efforts of the Center for the Book. Notably, numerous book centers were created in Russia, and a robust Centre for the Book was established in South Africa.

The Center for the Book now focuses its efforts across a wide array of highly visible and public-oriented festivals and events as well as education-oriented programming that can be utilized by schools of all sizes and levels. This might include the tradition of annual book fairs at primary schools and more specialized events such as the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE

Programs and Activities

The Center for the Book was created to support book history scholarship and literacy promotion. Although at the time of its founding there were no immediate threats to the viability of the book as the most widespread literary medium, the creation of such an organization was somewhat predictive given the rapid transformation of text media in the decades since its founding. The Center has transitioned with relative ease, parallel to the changes in common media consumption, while still maintaining its focus on core literacy. At its disposal are many resources, points of contact, and programmatic efforts that are highly accessible and popular.

The Center’s website serves as a portal for users to find basic information on its many programs as well as affiliated programs and events. The Center’s site also hosts several lists of suggested reading across a variety of subjects and age groups. A Classic Books section of the site contains curated lists of classic books that can be read online through the Library of Congress’s page-turner application.

Perhaps most crucial to the Center’s mission is its commitment to outreach activities. It maintains several specialized entities and supports a variety of festivals and programs. The promotion of literacy campaigns for youths and adults, as well as international readers, is a key mission of the Center and the Library of Congress.

One of the more popular events supported by the Center for the Book is the National Book Festival, a yearly celebration of books, authors, and readers held in Washington, D.C. It was created in 2001 by First Lady Laura Bush and Librarian of Congress James H. Billington and was based on the Texas Book Festival, which Bush had organized when she was the first lady of that state. The Center is crucial in the organization and support of the National Book Festival. This, among other events aimed at promoting books and readership, represents one of the key roles that the Center for the Book plays in supporting both scholarship and literacy.

The original version of this article was published by SAGE Publications in The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society.