PRODUCTION JOURNAL

Audio Journal #1: Democracy Demands Wisdom

The life of a significant documentary begins long before and lasts long after its broadcast. That's the idea behind the rousing call-to-action speech given by Tom Phelps, National Endowment for the Humanities Director of Public Programs at the 2008 American Library Association Annual Meeting.

His introduction at a workshop on library outreach programs produced in conjunction with "Soul of a People" spoke to why libraries and other organizations nationwide share responsibility as key collaborators to raise the level of public discourse. NEH does more than "talk the talk." The Endowment has provided major funding and support for this documentary and is also underwriting the ALA initiative to produce a range of educational events connected to the project in libraries around the country. The goal is to educate communities across the country about the Federal Writers' Project and to encourage public dialogue on issues such as our national and regional identity, and the interplay between history, literature and culture in shaping who we are as a people.

Listen to an excerpt of Tom's inspiring message. The file should take a minute to load so please be patient.

Listen using QUICKTIME or WINDOWS MEDIA.

If your organization has other ideas for outreach on this project, or would like to partner on an event, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us at: info@sparkmedia.org.