Valdosta State University’s Odum Library will celebrate Constitution Day from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 17. This drop-in event is free of charge and open to the public.

Activities include signing a replica of the United States Constitution, taking home a pocket Constitution, and participating in a special Founding Fathers photo opportunity. Refreshments will be served.

More than 100 free pocket-sized copies of the Constitution have been made available this year by U.S. Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia’s 8th District. These booklets will be available during the event, as well as at the Odum Library’s first- and second-floor service desks.  

Odum Library is the only federal depository library located within this congressional district. Federal depository libraries make federal government publications freely available to the public.

Constitution Day at Odum Library is presented in partnership with the American Association of University Women’s American Democracy Project.

Emily Rogers, Odum Library reference librarian and associate professor, said the purpose of this event is to promote awareness and understanding of the Constitution and of Constitution Day.

“On Sept. 17, 1787, the Founding Fathers signed the most influential document in American history — the United States Constitution,” according to the National Constitution Center. “This document established the framework of our government and the rights and freedoms that ‘We the People’ enjoy today.”

U.S. Senator Robert Byrd, a democrat from West Virginia, designated Sept. 17 as a day to recognize all who have become citizens, either by birth or naturalization, and to learn more about the formation of the nation’s founding document. Constitution Day became a national observance in 2004.

“Our ideals of freedom, set forth and realized in our Constitution, are our greatest export to the world,” Byrd reportedly once said.

In honor of Constitution Day, all educational institutions receiving federal funding are required to hold an educational program pertaining to the U.S. Constitution.

VSU will continue its celebration of Constitution Day with an exhibit of books, government documents, and media about the Constitution and its interpretation. These items are located in the reference area of the library and will remain on display throughout the month of September.