WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 DC-Smithsonian-REaD
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Smithsonian Institution Libraries
40th Anniversary Ruby Red Gala, "Paint the Town REaD!," will be held the
evening of Oct. 30 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and
Portraiture. The event aims to increase awareness and raise funds for the
Institution's libraries. The libraries support the needs of the Institution's
curators and researchers and are active public educators. The exhibition
program and the digital library initiative bring rare and valuable works from
the libraries' collection to a global audience through the Internet. The Web
site receives 40 million hits per year.
The guest speaker at the Ruby Gala will be author David Baldacci. Baldacci
has written 14 best-selling novels and recently released his 15th novel, "The
Whole Truth." More than 50 million of his books have been sold in more than 40
languages.
The event will include a silent auction featuring behind-the-scenes tours
of museums and local attractions and tickets to events such as "The Colbert
Report." Corporate sponsors include Gryphon Technologies, ProQuest, Sage,
MACRO International Inc., Edge Research and Alexandria Buick Pontiac GMC.
About Smithsonian Libraries
The libraries are an integral component of the world's largest and most
prestigious museum and research complex. The collection, housed in 20
branches, contains more than 1.5 million volumes, including 42,000 rare books.
Among the libraries' many treasures are the books and letters of Galileo and
James Smithson's library. The "Paint the Town REaD!" Gala will raise funds to
support the work of the Institution's curators and scientists and ensure that
the many treasures in the libraries are accessible to a growing public
constituency.
For more information about "Paint the Town REaD!," visit
http://www.paintthetownread.com. For more information about David Baldacci
visit http://www.davidbaldacci.com.
Media Web site: http://newsdesk.si.edu
SOURCE Smithsonian Institution Libraries
