Louisiana celebrates its bicentennial of statehood in 2012 and KnowLA will play a major and lasting role in the celebration. This spring, the LEH will publish a comprehensive, beautifully illustrated history of the art of the state from pre-colonial times through the present. The title of the project, commissioned by the Bicentennial Commission chaired by Gen. Russell Honoré, is A Unique Slant of Light: The Bicentennial History of Art in Louisiana. The book, edited by Dr. Michael Sartisky of the LEH and Dr. J. Richard Gruber of the Ogden Museum, will highlight approximately 275 artists and photographers with brief biographies and a representative sample of their work.

In an unprecedented collaboration, each artist featured in the publication will then link to an online, full-length encyclopedia entry in KnowLA. Each entry will be written by a scholar in the field of art history or criticism and will be accompanied by a gallery-quality slide show with carefully selected representative pieces from the artists' portfolios. This resource will be invaluable for teachers and students who will be able to create individual slide shows and files to save for use in the classroom or research projects. The online content will be available free of cost, as is all of KnowLA. For a read more about the project and to purchase an advance copy of the book, please follow this link: http://www.leh.org/lcvwinter2011/files/12.html.

The Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation recently awarded $25,000 to the LEH to support PRIME TIME Family Reading Time programming across Greater Baton Rouge in 2012. The Foundation's generous support will make possible a number of PRIME TIME programs in a region of state where the program has experienced increasing demand. "The LEH would like to thank Pennington Foundation President & CEO Ms. Lori Bertman, as well as the Foundation's staff and board for this pivotal support," stated Ms. Miranda Restovic, LEH Deputy Director and PRIME TIME Program Director. Established in 1982 in Baton Rouge, the Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation is one of the region's most generous and prolific supporters of community-focused non-profit organizations.

PRIME TIME for children under age six has a new look! During the January 2012 training workshop the PRIME TIME staff will introduce a new program for children ages 3 to 5 years, PRIME TIME Preschool! The new preschool program was designed to better align with the main PRIME TIME session while adhering to best practices in early childhood education. The program has been piloted for over a year with great success, and includes a new support manual for Preschool Coordinators which will be used to train Spring 2012 Preschool Coordinators during the January training workshop.

The new manual features a preschool syllabus that coordinates with each syllabus used in the regular programs, and activities that support literacy acquisition for young children. Parents are a focus as well, in that the new program is designed to encourage parent-child engagement, and model for parents how to read and play with their children in ways that enhance cognitive and pro-social development. While the PRIME TIME Preschool was created as a support to the main PRIME TIME program, future developments may include stand-alone PRIME TIME preschool sessions based on the new curriculum. Stay tuned!

The PRIME TIME Training Workshop has been tentatively scheduled for July 21 - 22, 2012. The workshop will be held at the Louisiana Humanities Center at Turners' Hall in New Orleans.

The PRIME TIME Training Workshop includes intense review the program methodology as well as practice of strategies for planning and implementing the program.

Affiliate project directors should begin considering whether any team members will need training and prepare to alert the PRIME TIME staff as soon as possible. Louisiana and affiliate trainees will receive preliminary details on the training in March. All others should contact the PRIME TIME staff with questions regarding upcoming training opportunities.

The new year brings forth the current schedule of RELIC programs in public libraries.  Of special note is a new program, "Making Sense of the American Civil War," a National Endowment for the Humanities funded project in observance of the Sesquicentennial of that signature conflict in the nation's history. This new reading and discussion program this is not like the "Battleground Louisiana" program in which audiences have previously participated.  It is focused on the broader issues of the war on the national level, in contrast to the state level content the Louisiana program on the war. The program offer the reading public an opportunity to examine various issues and themes of this 150 year old American experience. Three books are used in the program: March by Geraldine Brooks; Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam, by James McPherson and America's War: Talking About the Civil War and Emancipation on Their 150th Anniversaries, an anthology edited by Edward L. Ayers and published by NEH and ALA.

If this new program appeals to you, ask your librarian to inquire about possibly scheduling it.

RELIC Library Reading Programs, Winter/Spring 2012: