Aramont Charitable Foundation Gives $1 Million to Fund New Education Specialist for Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections
Two Gifts From Foundation To Support Public Programming
The Aramont Charitable Foundation has awarded a $1 million gift to the Library of Congress to support a new education outreach specialist to enhance the Rare Book & Special Collections Division’s outreach and programming through 2029, the Library announced today.
The gift follows a $1 million endowment established by the Aramont Charitable Foundation at the Library of Congress for public programming surrounding the donation of the Aramont Library, an extraordinary collection of modern literary editions, artist books, and fine bindings. The Aramont Library is now part of the Library of Congress’ holdings.
Both gifts will help the Rare Book Division to fulfill Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden’s goal of lending expertise to America’s classrooms and support literacy as a building block of lifelong success.
After an extensive search, the Library has chosen Patrick Hastings for this new position to shepherd an extraordinary range of material from the Rare Book & Special Collections Division and develop accessible educational content that engages a wide range of audiences.
“The Aramont Charitable Foundation has offered the Library a new model of outreach, one that places rare collections directly in the hands of an educator. We are truly excited to see how Patrick’s experience, expertise, and guidance will help us broaden the range of researchers who use our collections,” said Stephanie Stillo, chief of the Rare Book & Special Collections Division.
In 2005, Hastings received a bachelor’s degree in English from Washington & Lee University in Virginia. During his undergraduate years, Hastings taught poetry to underserved middle school students in Atlanta and received a Global Stewardship Grant to live and work at Shakespeare & Company Bookstore in Paris.
Hastings then embarked on a 19-year career as a high school English teacher. He was chair of the English Department at Gilman School in Baltimore, served as director of the Tickner Writing Center, and coached soccer and lacrosse.
In 2012, Hastings earned a master’s in English from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English where he focused on literary modernism. Out of a desire to share his passion with the wider reading public, Hastings founded the popular ulyssesguide.com, a free resource supporting readers of James Joyce’s “Ulysses.”
A decade later, Johns Hopkins University Press published Hastings’s book, “The Guide to James Joyce’s Ulysses.” Hastings has also published articles in the James Joyce Quarterly, Shenandoah, The Spectator and Middlebury Magazine, and has been featured in multiple podcasts on the subject of James Joyce.
“I am thrilled and honored to contribute to the Library’s efforts to share our inspiring collections with students, educators, and visitors,” Hastings said.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
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Media Contact: María Peña, mpena@loc.gov
PR 24-074
09/04/24
ISSN 0731-3527