The University of Southern Maine’s Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education (OML) has been awarded a grant from the Maine Semiquincentennial Commission to support its “Founding Memories: America at 250” lecture series. One of only 14 organizations statewide to receive funding out of more than 120 applicants, OML joins leading institutions in helping to tell Maine’s story as the nation marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
“We are honored to be one of 14 funded projects throughout the state of Maine,” said Libby Bischof, OML executive director. “This support means we can continue to be a trusted partner to our USM, K-12, and broader communities, providing access to over 500 years of cartographic history and public programming.”
The grant will support a public lecture series held in conjunction with the current gallery exhibition, featuring four free evening lectures from January through June 2026.
“Both the exhibition and the lecture series explore how individuals and communities have remembered, interpreted, and commemorated the Revolution over time, using maps and material culture as windows into ever-evolving ideas about patriotism, progress, and civic life,” Bischof said.
The commission, chaired by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, coordinates Maine’s participation in the nation’s semiquincentennial – the 250th anniversary – with a focus on inclusive, community-centered history programming.
“This upcoming year presents an important and necessary opportunity to reflect on our nation’s past and the meaning of the Declaration of Independence 250 years later,” said Bellows. “The work these 14 groups are doing will help shine a light on Maine’s legacy role in the formation of our collective past while serving as a reminder of our foundational values of liberty and equality as we look to our nation’s future.”
The Founding Memories Lecture series kicks off February 12 with a free live webinar featuring Dr. Amber N. Wiley, Wick Cary Director of the Institute for Quality Communities at the University of Oklahoma.
Wiley will examine how the Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation successfully advocated for greater recognition of Black history sites during the nation’s 1976 bicentennial – part of the series’ effort to reexamine how Americans have told, and retold, revolutionary history.
Through programming like the “Founding Memories” series, the renowned Osher Map Library continues its work as a statewide hub for public history and civic learning.
“Our programming collectively promotes the continued relevance of maps and mapping as tools to help patrons of all ages understand the past and the present, and to imagine the future,” said Bischof.
Register for Wiley’s talk and see the “Founding Memories: America at 250” gallery exhibition to explore how Americans continue to reinterpret the Revolution.