National expert to discuss future of libraries
Head of the National Archives to speak May 14 at Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

[May 09, 2015]  SPRINGFIELD – As the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum celebrates its 10th anniversary, it is also looking ahead to the next 10 years – and beyond – with a May 14 presentation on the future of research libraries by the head of the National Archives.

David Ferriero, official archivist of the United States, oversees an agency dedicated to preserving government laws and records, including irreplaceable documents like the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. The National Archives also operates 13 presidential libraries.

Ferriero will discuss the relationship between the National Archives and its presidential libraries and what lessons they offer for the state-operated Lincoln Presidential Library. He will also look at the future of research libraries in an age of digital access to information.

The free event begins at 6:30 in the museum’s Union Theater. For reservations, visit www.PresidentLincoln.Illinois.gov and click on “special event reservations” or call [phone].

Before his 2009 appointment as national archivist, Ferriero ran the New York Public Library and had worked in libraries at Duke University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum holds an unparalleled collection of Lincoln documents, photographs, artifacts and art. It also has some 12 million items pertaining to all aspects of Illinois history, making the library one of the nation’s top places for genealogy and history research.

The library and museum opened April 19, 2005. For details on activities and events celebrating our 10th anniversary, visit www.TenYears Lincoln.com.

[Chris Wills, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum]