Nancy Davenport shared how she has used Picturing America to enhance her library’s outreach by incorporating the Picturing America collection in to library programming. Nancy discussed using the Picturing America collection to increase visual literacy through children’s programming, and provided examples of discussion guides and reading lists to help you get started on creating your own remarkable programs.
The live presentation was broadcast through OPAL, a free online meeting space, on November 7, 2008 at 3 p.m. EST, in ALA’s 100-seat meeting room. More than 100 librarians attended. An archive of the program is available on OPAL. You can open streaming audio with slides and text chat or download an MP3 audiorecording (to download, right click on the link and select “Save Target As...”).
Prior to joining the DC Public Library, Nancy Davenport served as director of acquisitions in both the Rare Books and Special Collections and the Prints and Photographs divisions of the Library of Congress. Nancy currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Information Standards Organization. She holds a presidential appointment on the National Historical Publications and Records Commission at the National Archives, and is an active member of the American Library Association and the Public Library Association.
Picturing America is a free educational resource that helps teach American history and culture by bringing some of our nation’s greatest works of art directly to classrooms and libraries. At no cost, recipients receive a set of high-quality reproductions of 40 pieces of great American art and an illustrated teachers resource book with information about the artists and artwork and lesson ideas for all grade levels to facilitate the use of the reproductions in core subject areas. For more information, visit http://picturingamerica.neh.gov.
OPAL is a free, online meeting space where library patrons and staff can gather to participate in library programs and training sessions. For more information on OPAL, visit http://www.opal-online.org.
Contact the ALA Public Programs Office with questions at publicprograms@ala.org.