Commemorative Stamp Honors Library of Congress, Local Libraries to Participate in Bicentennial
The Library of Congress invites local libraries to participate in the issuance of a commemorative stamp honoring the institution's bicentennial to help promote libraries and build partnerships.
The stamp will be issued on the library's bicentennial date, April 24, 2000, in a ceremony at the library's Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C. The stamp, designed by Ethel Kessler known for her work as the designer of the breast cancer stamp, shows the interior rotunda of the Library of Congress. The stamp will sell for 33 cents.
When a new stamp is issued by the United States Postal Service, it is initially offered for sale in one city on the first day and then throughout the country on the second day and thereafter. The first date of sale is designated as the "official" First Day Of Issue. Envelopes, referred to in stamp-collecting circles as "covers," postmarked with the new stamp on the issue date are known as "First Day Covers." The postmark on first and second-day covers is a special cancellation available for a limited time. First Day Covers, as well as the covers from second-day events, are available in limited quantities.
Special envelopes for the covers, called "cachets," with customized design of words and/or pictures to enhance the meaning and appearance of a cover and to highlight the new stamp, are created. Some collectors seek covers by one artist or on one subject. Approximately 300 firms create cachets for new covers; cachets are available by subscription, others are available individually. The Library of Congress will provide information about cachet makers to participating libraries.
This is an innovative opportunity to create a cachet design for second-day issue events at Colorado libraries. Blank envelopes or an envelope with the library's logo can also be used.
Second-day issue events, which can be scheduled between Tuesday, April 25, 2000, and Wednesday, May 31, 2000, provide an opportunity for every library to be as creative as it would like. Typically at stamp issue ceremonies, a library or community representative presides over the event, welcomes the guests to the ceremony, and dedicates the stamp. Libraries can use second-day issue events to honor a high-profile community member or to work with interested organizations, groups, or constituents to exemplify the theme "Libraries Build Community."
The local postmaster or other local postal service official will bring the commemorative bicentennial postage stamp and the special cancellation to the event and will manage aspects of the program related specifically to the stamp and its cancellation. The Bicentennial Program Office in the Library of Congress will be meeting with an advisory group to provide programming ideas and suggestions that participating libraries may want to consider for the second-day issue events. That office will provide materials to each participating library to assist with tactical planning, such as programming suggestions, checklists, suggestions for the issuance ceremony, contacts with local stamp clubs or organizations, and other items to support and assist a well-organized celebration.
For additional information or to participate in this collaborative venture, contact Kathy Woodrell in the Bicentennial Program Office, by email at kwoo@loc.gov, by telephone at 202/707-7206, or tollfree at 800/707-7145.
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