HCC Library Selected as Site for Traveling Lincoln Exhibition Touring the Nation

HOPKINSVILLE, KY. (September 22, 2009) Hopkinsville Community College administrators announced that the College has been selected as a host site for Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War, a traveling exhibition that examines how President Lincoln used the Constitution to confront three intertwined crises of the Civil Warthe secession of Southern states, slavery and wartime civil liberties. The announcement was made during the Librarys grand re-opening celebration followed by a surprise appearance and speech by Abraham Lincoln impersonator, John Mansfield.

The exhibition is currently touring the country through August 2013 and will open at the Hopkinsville Community College Library on September 21, 2011. The HCC Library will be planning Lincoln-themed events over the next two years gearing up for the exhibition opening. HCC is extremely proud to be selected as one of only 25 stops on the national exhibition schedule, said HCC President, James Selbe. By being included on this tour, our College is in the company of institutions like Texas Aamp;M and Virginia Polytechnic Institute amp; State University. This project fits perfectly with HCCs mission to promote excellence in teaching and learning.

The traveling exhibition is composed of informative panels featuring photographic reproductions of original documents, including a draft of Lincolns first inaugural speech, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment. The exhibition encourages visitors to form a nuanced view of Lincoln by engaging them with Lincolns struggle to reconcile his policy preferences with basic American ideals of liberty and equality. This exhibition develops a more complete understanding of Abraham Lincoln as president and the Civil War as the nations gravest constitutional crisis, said Cynthia Atkins, HCC librarian. We are excited about the numerous educational opportunities that this exhibition will provide for the general public and school systems around the region. Since HCC is the only Kentucky site on the tour schedule, we expect that our Library will welcome visitors from both across the Commonwealth and from adjacent states.

The National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office organized the traveling exhibition, which was made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): great ideas brought to life. The traveling exhibition is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the National Constitution Center and currently touring the United States.

For partnership opportunities or general information, contact Cynthia Atkins, HCC librarian, at (270) 707-3761, cynthia.atkins@kctcs.edu.