The mission of Wisconsin Center for the Book is to promote the culture of the book, celebrate books and book arts, encourage the joy of reading and writing, and honor Wisconsin's literary heritage. It has been a national affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book since 1986. In 2008, the Wisconsin Center for the Book became an affiliate of the nonprofit Woodland Pattern Book Center of Milwaukee. The WCB incorporated with the State of Wisconsin in 2009 and by the end of 2011 achieved 501c3 status. Today the WCB continues its partnership with Woodland Pattern, as its fiscal record-keeping agency and connection to programming partnerships. In addition, WCB is a member organization of the Poet Laureate Commission of Wisconsin.
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Wisconsin Center for the Book's Main Goals are...
to promote the culture of the book;
to celebrate books and book arts;
generally, through educational and other efforts, to help make books and reading as inviting and accessible to as broad an audience as possible;
to honor Wisconsin’s literary heritage;
to sponsor events open to the public which focus on books;
to educate the public concerning our state’s contributions to book creation, publication and distribution;
and to engage in other activities to educate the public about book writing, creation, publishing, and distribution in our state
The Center for the Book was founded in 1977 as a way for the Library of Congress to “promote books, reading, literacy, as well as the scholarly study of books.” The Center for the Book manages important programs such as Letters About Literature and River of Words, in addition to giving out three annual awards, totaling $250,000, for organizations that have promote reading and make significant strides for literacy in the U.S. Beginning in 1984, the Center for the Book began establishing state-based affiliates, and now have a center in each of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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