Bring Recovering the Classics to Your Community: The 50×50 Campaign

We were so blown away by the response to Recovering the Classics at ALA 2015 that we have big news:

We’re bringing the covers to all 50 states, and we need your help! We’re calling the campaign 50×50. The idea is to build a community of book-lovers across the country by exhibiting at least 50 covers in libraries, book festivals, galleries, schools, and other places of your imagination in all 50 states. 

You can become involved by volunteering to organize an event of your own! We’re already getting started with some great folks in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio and other states. And we’re planning a Kickstarter in the fall to help bring down the costs for exhibitors.

 

Below is our official announcement:

Recovering the Classics Presents 50×50

Celebrate the success of Recovering the Classics by hosting your own 50×50 event! With your help, we can showcase 50 classic book covers in all 50 states, and nurture communities of book-lovers in the process.

In 2013, Recovering the Classics asked designers from around the world to reimagine covers for great books in the public domain. This spring, we announced a partnership with the New York Public Librarythe White House and the Digital Public Library of America to bring the covers to libraries and schools nationwide through special edition ebooks.

Now it’s time to celebrate! We’re looking for libraries, schools, book stores, galleries, local civic organizations, and others across the country to create their own events around the covers — exhibits, readings, school activities, or design-a-thons.

By coming together for this series of events, we’ll develop a community of readers who will share ideas, events and curricula around these classics for years to come.

Host Your Own

Do you want to hold your own local Recovering the Classics exhibit? We have posters in different sizes, as well as postcards and stickers. Right now, we are working on bringing down these costs for partners, which is where our future Kickstarter and sponsorships comes in.

To really do it right, you would pair our covers with designs by your local artists, giving everything a distinct regional flair.

If no single local organization can exhibit 50 covers, we can send batches of 10 or 25 to multiple groups within a state. We’re happy as long as there are at least 50 distinct covers in each of the 50 states!