AAS 2013 National Humanities Award (continued) page 2 of 2
American Antiquarian Society
185 Salisbury Street, Worcester, MA 01609-1634
A research library of American history and culture through 1876
www.americanantiquarian.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2014 Contact: James David Moran
(508) 471-2131 (office)
(508) 248-4694 (home)
(508) 783-5085 (cell)
E-mail:
American Antiquarian Society honored with 2013 National Humanities Medal
WORCESTER, MA— President Barack Obama will honor the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) with a 2013 National Humanities Medal at a ceremony at the White House on Monday, July 28, 2014, at 3 p.m. The Society is the first independent research library to be so honored. The citation for the award that will be read at Monday’s event says:
To the “American Antiquarian Society… for safeguarding the American story. Through more than two centuries, the Society has amassed an unparalleled collection of historic American documents, served as a research center to scholars and students alike, and connected generations of Americans to their cultural heritage.”
AAS president Ellen S. Dunlap said of the award, “ We are extremely humbled and honored to be presented with this prestigious prize. For over 200 years the Society has held in trust for the American people the early printed record of our nation. Collecting, preserving and making available this extraordinary material has been our collective honor. But now to be recognized by the President and the American people in such a wonderful manner is beyond our wildest dreams.”
At Monday’s award ceremony which will also be live broadcast at www.WhiteHouse.gov/live the President will award both the National Medal of Arts and the National Humanities Medal to a total of 20 organizations and individuals. Ellen S. Dunlap, AAS president, Sid Lapidus, AAS Council Chair, and William S. Reese, AAS Councilor, will accept the award on behalf of the Society. AAS members David Brion Davis and Anne Firor Scott will also receive awards on Monday. Since its inauguration in 1997, a total of 40 AAS members have won National Humanities Awards including: Jill Ker Conway, David McCullough, Annette Gordon-Reed, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Ken Burns. Only ten other organizations have been so honored.
American Antiquarian Society
Founded in 1812, as the country’s first national historical organization, the American Antiquarian Society is both a learned society and a major independent research library. The AAS library today houses the largest and most accessible collection of books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, periodicals, sheet music, and graphic arts material printed through 1876 in what is now the United States, as well as manuscripts and a substantial collection of secondary works, bibliographies, and other reference works related to all aspects of American history and culture before the twentieth century.
The Society sponsors a broad range of programs–visiting research fellowships, research, education, publications, lectures, and concerts–for constituencies ranging from school children and their teachers through undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, creative and performing artists and writers, and the general public.
The AAS library is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Wednesday from 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. It is closed on all legal holidays. The library is open to serious researchers, free of charge. Complimentary public tours are held Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. The Society can be found on the worldwide web at www.americanantiquarian.org.
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