The Dixon Public Library, located along the Rock River, has been working on their local history collection over the past several months and the Cataloging Maintenance Center (CMC) is helping them with their cataloging. What interesting items does your library have available to your patrons?
Sheet Music
A recent item cataloged by the CMC for Dixon Public Library is a copy of the sheet music for the Dixon Petunia Festival that is held every year the beginning of July.
The Dixon Petunia Festival song, words and music by Orville Westgor for the annual Petunia Festival featuring a parade, carnival, country concert, fireworks show, and a 5K race—the Reagan Run. The Petunia Festival was conceived after Dutch Elm Disease and highway expansion wiped out the trees along the major roads in the late 1950s. In response to the dramatic change the streetscape underwent, the Dixon Men's Garden Club planted petunias along Galena Avenue to regain some sort of streetscape identity once again in the early 1960s. Before this annual festival, volunteers plant thousands of pink petunias along the main streets.
Drafts of the Gettysburg Address
Another interesting item that Dixon Public Library has facsimiles of the first and second drafts of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The original drafts are held in the Library of Congress. There are five known copies in President Lincoln’s handwriting of the Gettysburg Address. The original and second drafts were given to his secretary, John Hay. April 11, 1916, they were presented to the Government of the United States by John Hay’s three children.
Contact the CMC
If you have a cataloging question or want to know if your collection is eligible for free cataloging, contact the CMC at (618) 656-3216 ext. 503.