Library of Congress and Mid-Atlantic Public Libraries Kick Off Summer Essay Contest

The Library of Congress today launched its annual summer essay contest, in conjunction with public libraries in the Mid-Atlantic region, to encourage rising 5th- and 6th-grade students to reflect on books that have made a personal impact on their lives.

The "A Book That Shaped Me" Summer Writing Contest is administered as part of summer reading programs at participating public libraries in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Prizes will be awarded and top winners will be invited to present their essays during a special presentation at the Library of Congress National Book Festival, Saturday, Sept. 5 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The festival (www.loc.gov/bookfest) will mark its 15th anniversary since its establishment in 2001. The theme of this year’s festival is "I cannot live without books," a famous statement by Thomas Jefferson.

Students entering 5th and 6th grades in the fall of 2015 are eligible. Essays, focused on a single book, should be one page in length and must be submitted with an entry form, in person, at participating public library locations. The deadline for entries is Friday, July 10, 2015.

"A Book That Shaped Me" will award prizes to five finalists and one winner per state, and to three overall grand-prize winners. The 30 finalists will be selected by a panel of scorers composed of members of the American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association. The three grand-prize winners will be selected by a panel of judges assembled by the Library of Congress, including educators, children’s authors and Library of Congress staff.

Submission forms are available at the Library of Congress Young Readers Center in Room G-29 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C., or at participating public library locations. The list of participating libraries and more information are available at www.loc.gov/bookfest/kids-teachers/booksthatshape/.

Launched in 2012 with the D.C. Public Library, “A Book That Shaped Me” has since expanded throughout the Mid-Atlantic region with the help of public libraries in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. More than 300 public libraries are registered to participate in this, the fourth program year. Public library systems in these states may sign up through May 15, 2015, by contacting [email protected] for program details.

Featured

  • New Jersey PreK–12 School Breaks Ground on New STEM Building

    Saddle River Day School (SRDS) in Saddle River, N.J., recently announced that it has broken ground on the new Dr. Kristen Walsh Hall of Science & Entrepreneurship, according to a news release. The school partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the design of the new facility, which will provide the school with space to expand its STEM and business education classes.

  • Rice University to Build New Student Life Complex

    Rice University in Houston, Texas, recently announced that a groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Moody Center Complex for Student Life (MCCSL) will take place on May 8, 2025, according to a university news release. The 75,000-square-foot facility was designed by architecture firm Olson Kundig with Page serving as executive architect, and it has an estimated completion date of fall 2027.

  • Pangram Secures Funding for AI Detection Technology

    Pangram, which provides technology that detects AI-generated text, recently announced that it has secured nearly $4 million in pre-seed and seed funding, according to a news release. The most recent round of investments, totaling $2.7 million, come on top of the pre-existing seed fund of $1.25 million.

  • old university building with visible aging signs, overlaid with digital data graphics like thermal maps, charts, and system icons

    Modernizing Higher Education Infrastructure: Why Smarter Facility Management Is Essential to Protecting Aging Schools

    Schools now have the opportunity to adopt smarter, more strategic approaches to futureproof operations and enhance the on-campus experience.

Digital Edition