CONTACTS:
• John F. Barber, Digital Technology and Culture, 360-546-9645, jfbarber@vancouver.wsu.edu
• Susan Tissot, Clark County Historical Society, 360-993-5679, tissots@pacifier.com
• Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@vancouver.wsu.edu
VANCOUVER, Wash. - The Brautigan Library, a unique collection of nearly 400 unpublished manuscripts written by everyday authors, will soon have a new home in Vancouver thanks to a partnership between the Digital Technology and Culture Program at Washington State University Vancouver and the Clark County Historical Museum.
John F. Barber, Ph.D., faculty member in the DTC program at 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø, will coordinate students and a team of local and international volunteers, to reopen the library and continue its mission of connecting writers and readers of personal narratives.
Barber, a leading Brautigan scholar, is the developer and curator of Brautigan Bibliography and Archive (), an interactive, online resource generally acknowledged as the premier information source for the life and works of Richard Brautigan. Brautigan (1935-1984) is a Washington-born author who rose to international prominence as the author said to best capture the zeitgeist of the counterculture during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He is best noted for his novel "Trout Fishing in America" (1967), his poetry collection "The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster" (1968), and his collection of stories "Revenge of the Lawn" (1971).
Inspired by a fictional library described by Brautigan in his 1971 novel, "The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966", The Brautigan Library provides everyday writers a public shelf where their unpublished manuscripts, free of restrictions on content or quality, are available for anyone to read.
"The Brautigan Library is not about publishing, or even literature. It's about people telling their stories in a democratic way. It is a very public home for personal narratives in a digital age," said Barber.
The library will become a permanent collection of the Clark County Historical Museum in the former 1909 Andrew Carnegie library building in downtown Vancouver. Future plans call for the library to reopen as a permanent, interactive collection, according to Susan Tissot, executive director of the Clark County Historical Society. The Brautigan Library will also collect and circulate unpublished manuscripts using contemporary digital technologies.
"There is international interest in The Brautigan Library, both as a historical idea and an attraction for Vancouver," said Barber. "We are planning research activities, conferences, exhibits and creative activities as part of the community outreach focus of our partnership with the Clark County Historical Museum."
This idea ties nicely with the mission of the Clark County Historical Museum, according to Tissot. "This is a very exciting addition to our permanent collections in that it highlights our mission of collecting, preserving and interpreting the culture history of the Pacific Northwest, along with providing educational opportunities for the public. Richard Brautigan is a native son, a rather famous one, and we look forward to promoting his vision for a very public library through this interactive partnership with the DTC Program at 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø."
The Brautigan Library was first opened in 1990 in Burlington, Vt., by Todd R. Lockwood, a Brautigan fan. True to Brautigan's vision, the library accepted manuscripts from authors keen to tell their stories.
In storage since 2006, the decision to relocate The Brautigan Library to Vancouver, comes after two years of negotiations with the estate of the late author.
To visit the website for The Brautigan Library go to .
The Digital Technology and Culture Program at Washington State University Vancouver integrates critical thinking, creativity and computing skills with course work in the arts, humanities and social sciences to offer a broad-based, interdisciplinary degree that prepares students for a culturally diverse, technologically complex 21st century.
Learn more about the DTC program at 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø at .
The Clark County Historical Museum is located at 1511 Main Street in Vancouver. Regular museum hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Admission is charged; CCHS members are free.
The museum is also open for free from 5 - 9 p.m. the first Thursday of each month February - November for First Thursday Museum After Hours. A wheelchair-accessible entrance to the museum is located on the east side of the museum building on 16th Street. For more information call the museum 360-993-5679 or visit .
91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø is celebrating 20 years of bringing quality education, research and service to the citizens of Southwest Washington. The campus is located at 14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205, or via C-Tran bus service. 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø offers 16 bachelor's degrees, 10 master's degrees, one doctorate degree and more than 36 fields of study. Learn more at .
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