PLA Blog

A project of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), conducted in cooperation with the American Library Association:

Picturing America, an exciting new initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities, brings masterpieces of American art into classrooms and libraries nationwide. Through this innovative program, students and citizens will gain a deeper appreciation of our country’s history and character through the study and understanding of its art.

Participating institutions will receive:

• Forty large, high-quality color reproductions of the selected masterpieces (24” x 36”).
• A Teachers Resource Book providing a wide range of ideas and background information to support educators using the works of art in core subject areas.
• Additional resources and lesson plans available through PicturingAmerica.neh.gov.

You can peruse these materials and apply online. Applications are due by April 15, 2008; public libraries, K-12 schools, and home school consortia are eligible.

The Public Programs Office sent out an alert about a new traveling exhibition care of Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, an organization that promotes the study and love of American history, and has developed traveling panel exhibitions for display at schools, libraries, and historic sites.

The exhibition, Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times, incorporates letters, photographs, and images from Lincoln’s presidency and Civil War soldiers and their families, and is available to academic and public libraries only.

If you are interested in hosting this exhibition, download the application from the Gilder Lehrman Institute site to apply by March 25, 2008. Questions about the exhibition may be directed to Susan Saidenberg at