Nebraska Center for the Book – Building the Community of the Book

The Nebraska Center for the Book (NCB) is a nonprofit organization that supports programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word.  The NCB has been an affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book since 1990. The Center publishes a regular  newsletter  and individuals are invited to join NCB  to support literature, reading and books in Nebraska (Nebraska Center for the Book Membership Form).

The center has has as its mission, the bringing together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators and scholars to build the community of the book.

Among the many programs and activities the Nebraska Center for the Book sponsors is the Nebraska Book Festival. The festival is held a various locations throughout the state, usually in late summer or early fall. Though I wasn’t able to attend the 2018 festival, a posting  on the state library commission listsev, from a Commision librarian who did attend was welcome news.

I was excited to be reminded that we have many wonderful resources available to Nebraska librarians  and  their patrons to help readers connect with Nebraska authors. Below is an excerpt from the email.

“A new, publicly available online database features the work of Nebraska authors and can be accessed at nebraskaauthors.org. The database holds the biographical information and bibliographies of more than 4,300 Nebraska authors, past and present, with content originating from the special collection on Nebraska authors at the Lincoln City Libraries the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors. The information has been collected by many dedicated volunteers and staff members over the past fifty years. Read more about the project here. Support from the Nebraska Literary Heritage Association, Lincoln City Libraries, and the UNL Center for Digital Research in the Humanities (CDRH) make this database available.”

A new publication, “Guide to More Nebraska Authors” (Infusionmedia, 2018), edited by Charlene Neely and Gerry Cox was also highlighted.  This title provides biographical sketches on more than 100 contemporary Nebraska authors, including information on their influences, publications, honors, and awards.  This title is a Sesquicentennial Legacy Project, honoring Nebraska’s 150th birthday.  For more information,  hello@infusion.media.

I will take time soon, to explore the database and look for a copy of the Neeley and Cox guide, the next time I visit my favorite library branch. I invite you to explore the wonderful worlds created by Nebraska authors too!