The Vietnam War

The Vietnam WarThe application period is now closed.

In partnership with the WETA Productions in Washington, D.C., the American Library Association (ALA) developed a programming kit for The Vietnam War, a film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, for public libraries. This kit included a programming guide and a copy of the full 18-hour documentary series on DVD, with public performance rights. This kit helped public libraries participate in a national conversation about one of the most consequential, divisive and controversial events in American history.

Fifty U.S. public libraries were selected through a competitive application process. The opportunity was open to all public libraries in the United States and U.S. territories.

In this immersive ten-part narrative, Ken Burns and Lynn Novick tell the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film. Visceral and immersive, the series explores the human dimensions of the war through revelatory testimony of nearly 80 witnesses from all sides — Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as combatants and civilians from North and South Vietnam.

Ten years in the making, The Vietnam War includes rarely seen, digitally re-mastered archival footage from sources around the globe, photographs taken by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th century, historic television broadcasts, evocative home movies, and secret audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations. The Vietnam War features more than 100 iconic musical recordings from the greatest artists of the era and haunting original music from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, as well as the Silk Road Ensemble featuring Yo-Yo Ma.

Funding credits: Bank of America; Corporation for Public Broadcasting; PBS; David H. Koch; The Blavatnik Family Foundation; Park Foundation; The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; National Endowment for the Humanities; The Pew Charitable Trusts; Ford Foundation Just Films; Rockefeller Brothers Fund; and Members of The Better Angels Society: Jonathan & Jeannie Lavine, Diane & Hal Brierley, Amy & David Abrams, John & Catherine Debs, Fullerton Family Charitable Fund, The Montrone Family, Lynda & Stewart Resnick, The Golkin Family Foundation, The Lynch Foundation, The Roger & Rosemary Enrico Foundation, Richard S. & Donna L. Strong Foundation, Bonnie & Tom McCloskey, Barbara K. & Cyrus B. Sweet III, The Lavender Butterfly Fund.


Programming Kit Recipients

The 50 public libraries listed below received The Vietnam War, a film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick programming kit, and implemented related programs in their communities.

Alabama

Irondale Public Library, Irondale

Alaska

Ketchikan Public Library, Ketchikan

Arizona

Chandler Public Library, Chandler

California

Palm Desert Library, Palm Desert

San José Public Library, San Jose

St. Helena Public Library, St. Helena

Colorado

Anythink Libraries, Thornton

Florida

Highlands County Library System, Avon Park

Georgia

Clayton County Library System, Jonesboro

Iowa

Carnegie-Stout Public Library, Dubuque

Mount Pleasant Public Library, Mount Pleasant

Illinois

Aurora Public Library, Aurora

Peoria Public Library, Peoria

Wauconda Area Library, Wauconda

Indiana

Eckhart Public Library, Auburn

Kokomo-Howard County Public Library, Kokomo

Kentucky

Boyle County Public Library, Danville

Louisiana

Terrebonne Parish Library, Houma

Massachusetts

Boston Public Library, Boston

Hingham Public Library, Hingham

Maryland

Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore

Maine

Ellsworth Public Library, Ellsworth

Kennebunk Free Library, Kennebunk

Michigan

Peter White Public Library, Marquette

Minnesota

Thorson Memorial Library, Elbow Lake

Marshall-Lyon County Library, Marshall

Montana

Billings Public Library, Billings

North Carolina

Rowan Public Library, Salisbury

New Hanover County Public Library, Wilmington

Nebraska

Omaha Public Library, Omaha

New Jersey

Pemberton Community Library, Brown Mills

Princeton Public Library, Princeton

Franklin Township Public Library, Somerset

Wayne Public Library, Wayne

New Mexico

Octavia Fellin Public Library, Gallup

New York

Liverpool Public Library, Liverpool

Poughkeepsie Public Library District, Poughkeepsie

Oklahoma

Muldrow Public Library – Stanley Tubbs Memorial Library, Muldrow

Oregon

Coos Bay Public Library, Coos Bay

Multnomah County Library, Portland

Pennsylvania

Penn Area Library, Harrison City

Wyomissing Public Library, Wyomissing

Texas

Harris County Public Library, Houston

Midland County Public Library, Midland

Virginia

Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Fredericksburg

Massanutten Regional Library, Harrisonburg

Washington

Whitman County Rural Library, Colfax

Wisconsin

Kenosha Public Library, Kenosha

Verona Public Library, Verona

Wyoming

Laramie County Library System, Cheyanne