by Martha Childers, Government Documents Librarian, Johnson County Library
International participation in the 2009 Gov Doc Kids Group Constitution Day Poster Contest, a project of KLA GODORT, included 2,395 entries from 37 states, including 83 from Kansas, as well as Department of Defense schools in Italy, Japan, and Korea. In 2008, the Group received 1140 entries from 28 states. In 2007, 161 entries were received from 8 states and 2 schools in Japan.
The 13 winning posters were selected by Mary Burtzloff (Archivist, Eisenhower Presidential Library), Brian Oertel (Graphic Designer, Johnson County Library), and Jan Schall (Sanders Sosland Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art).
Three local Kansas City-area winners were honored at the National Archives at Kansas City n December 12, 2009, with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II and Donna Lauffer, County Librarian, Johnson County Library, speaking. Mary Burtzloff, a member of KLA GODORT, presided. The Gov Doc Kids Group encourages other metro areas, regions, and organizations such as churches and schools to have presentations for their winners, and the Group offers assistance for this to interested individuals and groups.
The Group members have presented at the Annual Kansas Library Association Conference and ALA Annual Conference. The Group has a partnership with GPO through Muskingam University. Group members are: Martha Childers, Johnson County Library (childersm@jocolibrary.org); Arlene Wiler, Johnson County Library (wilera@jocolibrary.org); Mary Burtzloff, Eisenhower Presidential Library (mary.burtzloff@nara.gov); Tom Adamich, Muskingum University Library (tadamich@muskingum.edu); Nan Myers, Wichita State University Libraries (nan.myers@wichita.edu), Carmen Orth-Alfie, University of Kansas (corthalf@ku.edu); and Antoinette W. Satterfield, Kansas State University (satterfi@ksu.edu). ConstitutionFacts.com is a corporate sponsor. The Defense Commissary Agency is a government partner.
The project’s primary objective is to promote the use of government information to children and to respond to the law requiring K-12 public school teachers to provide curriculum regarding Constitution Day. For more information, see the group’s wikis at: http://www.govdocs4children.pbwiki.com and http://community.fdlp.gov/groups/viewgroup/14-Gov+Doc+Kids+Group.html.