DttP From the Chair

Andie Craley, GODORT Chair

The current school year across various levels of educational institutions from primary to universities and colleges is starting to wind down, and dreams of summer breaks and vacations that may bring relaxation and end of chaotic and stressful schedules are drawing ever closer. The anticipation of graduation and commencement ceremonies are lighting the festive mood as planning is in full swing to celebrate reaching the long-awaited conclusion of one journey that will lead to brand new roads to discover.

Within that festive mood is the realization that our United States of America is on its own precipice of reaching a milestone in its journey of 250 years of independence on July 4, 2026. Various events leading up to that anniversary have already begun in various states on the East Coast, with:

• March 22, 2025: 250th Bush Declaration, the signing of the Bush Declaration, a document where 34 men from Harford County pledged their support to the 2nd Continental Congress and the Provincial Convention of Maryland1
• April 18, 2025: 250th Anniversary of Paul Revere’s Ride2
• April 19, 2025: 250th Anniversary of the Battles at Lexington and Concord3
• May 10, 2025: 250th Anniversary of the 2nd Continental Congress Assembly4
• June 15, 2025: 250th Anniversary of George Washington Being Elected to Command the Continental Army5

Libraries, museums, and many historical organizations and associations nationwide are beginning their planning of displays, exhibits, and events for the coming celebrations. I highly recommend the resource America 250 as a starting point on your roadmap for this journey.6 It is a nationwide resource for the United States of America’s 250th anniversary which is led by the U.S Semiquincentennial Commission that was established by the 114th Congress in 2016 with Public Law 114-196 to help inspire participation in planning this 2026 celebration, and we are now arriving on the doorstep.7 On a state or territory level, you can see what your individual state or territory may be planning with their own commission to bring that celebration to a more local level. You can locate a list with links at the America 250 State and Territory Commissions.8

There are so many additional resources; I will list a few more:

• America 250 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services9
• Declaration 250 at The National Archives10
• Our shared Future: 250 at the Smithsonian Institution11
• 250th Anniversary of American Independence from the National Park Service12

GODORT is planning on bringing the 250th inspiration to the ALA Annual 2025 Conference in Philadelphia, PA at the end of June. What a great place to launch ideas for a 250th Anniversary celebration! On Saturday June 28 from 2:30-3:30 PM, the GODORT Chairs Program will sponsor “America at 250: Celebrating Freedom, Confronting Inequities, and Considering a New Constitutional Era”. Keep checking back at the GODORT ALA Annual Conference Events in Philadelphia tab on the GODORT 2025 Annual Meetings LibGuide for updates on this program and GODORT’s other June 27 and June 28 ALA Annual Events.13

In addition, GODORT will be hosting its weeklong virtual committees and interest groups meetings the week of June 9-13. All are welcome to attend these meetings to learn about GODORT and our various committees and interest groups! See our GODORT 2025 ALA Annual LibGuide for the schedules and for the free registration link to receive the Zoom link for these meetings.14

GODORT would love to have volunteers fill some open vacancies in our committees and interest groups for the upcoming 2025-2026 season as we have some committee members who will roll off from their terms. You can see all the work our GODORT committees do at ALA GODORT Committees, Task Forces, and Interest Groups.15 Want to get involved? Please see more information at New Members or contact GODORT Chair Andie Craley with any questions and volunteer interest. 16

GODORT is a nurturing and supportive network where information professionals share a passion for learning, advocating, creating awareness, and preserving access to all levels of government information for everyone. GODORT supports several initiatives for this:

• Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian webinars17
• Kenya Flash Lecture Series (in collaboration often with the Politics, Policy and International Relations Section (PPIRS) of the ALA ACRL Division)18
• GODORT Friday Chats19
• GODORT LibGuides20
• GODORT Publications and Resources such as Documents to the People (DttP), Notable Documents, and Occasional Papers21

GODORT is looking forward with anticipation of a great year ahead to share and collaborate with its community of those interested in government and historical information, as we prepare for our nation’s 250th anniversary. Get out your party gear and get ready to celebrate!

Andie Craley (acraley@harford.edu),
Technical Services & Government Information Librarian, Harford Community College.

References

1. “Bush Declaration,” The Historical Society of Harford County, https://www.harfordhistory.org/bush-declaration/.
2. Longfellow House Washington’s Headquarters, National Park Service, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” National Park Service, July 18, 2024, https://www.nps.gov/long/learn/historyculture/paul-reveres-ride.htm.
3. Library of Congress, “First Shots of War, 1775,” U.S. History Primary Source Timeline, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/american-revolution-1763-1783/first-shorts-of-war-1775/.
4. Independence, National Park Service, “The Second Continental Congress and the Declaration of Independence,” National Park Service, September 3, 2024, https://web.archive.org/web/20250411025130/https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/resources-declaration-secondcontinentalcongress.htm.
5. Drexler, Ken, George Washington’s Commission as Commander in Chief: Primary Documents in American History, Library of Congress, August 23, 2021, https://guides.loc.gov/washington-commission.
6. 6 America250, U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, https://america250.org/americas-250th/.
7. United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016, P.L. 114-196, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-114publ196/pdf/PLAW-114publ196.pdf.
8. “State and Territory Commissions,” America250, U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, https://america250.org/our-partners/state-and-territory-commissions/.
9. “America250,” Institute of Museum and Library Services, https://www.imls.gov/our-work/partnerships/america250.
10. Declaration250, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, https://www.declaration250.gov/.
11. “Our Shared Future: 250,” Smithsonian, https://www.si.edu/250.
12. National Park Service, “250th Anniversary of American Independence,” National Park Service, March 12, 2025, https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/usa-250.htm.
13. “ALA Annual Conference Events in Philadelphia,” GODORT 2025 Annual Meetings, Government Documents Round Table, American Library Association, May 21, 2025, https://godort.libguides.com/2025godortannual/philadelphiaevents.
14. GODORT 2025 Annual Meetings, Government Documents Round Table, American Library Association, May 21, 2025, https://godort.libguides.com/2025godortannual.
15. “GODORT Committees, Task Forces, and Interest Groups,” Government Documents Round Table, American Library Association, https://www.ala.org/godort/about-committees.
16. “New Members,” Government Documents Round Table, American Library Association, https://www.ala.org/godort/godortmembership/new-members.
17. “Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian Webinar Series,” Government Documents Round Table, American Library Association, https://www.ala.org/godort/HelpWebinars.
18. “Kenya S. Flash Virtual Lecture Series in Librarianship,” Government Documents Round Table, American Library Association, https://www.ala.org/godort/publications-resources/kenya-s-flash-virtual-lecture-series.
19. “GODORT Friday Chats,” Government Documents Round Table, American Library Association, https://godort.libguides.com/fridaychats.
20. Government Documents Round Table LibGuides Site, https://godort.libguides.com/.
21. “Publications and Resources,” Government Documents Round Table, American Library Association, https://www.ala.org/godort/publications-resources.