Beaumont Library District Receives $1,200 World War I Grant

Beaumont Library District has been awarded a $1,200 “World War I and America” grant to host events that will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the nation’s entry into the war in 1917.

Funds are being distributed to 120 libraries in all 50 states through the Library of America, which received this year’s largest grant, $550,000, from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The project will bring members of the veteran community together with the general public in libraries and museums around the country to explore the transformative impact of the First World War by reading, discussing, and sharing insights into the writings of Americans who experienced it firsthand.

Beaumont Library, in partnership with its Veterans Resource Center, is planning to offer scholar-moderated discussions next year for those who served in more recent conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan to bring their experiences to bear on historical events and texts. These programs will inform local audiences about the lasting legacies of World War I and the similarities and differences between past and present.

As part of the grant, the Library will be adding World War I and America: Told by the Americans Who Lived It, an annotated narrative collection. Edited by Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer A. Scott Berg in collaboration with an advisory board comprised of distinguished World War I scholars Jennifer D. Keene, Edward G. Lengel, Michael S. Neiberg, and Chad Williams, this important new anthology will encourage exploration and discussion of the war’s significance long after the centennial is over.

Beaumont Library, a California Special District independent of both city and county government, provides library services to Beaumont and Cherry Valley and is located at 125 E. 8th Street in Beaumont. Go to bld.lib.ca.us or call 951-845-1357 for more information.