FREE DISPLAY MATERIALS AVAILABLE TO LIBRARIES FOR NATIONAL INVENTORS' MONTH(R) IN AUGUST

AUGUST IS NATIONAL INVENTORS' MONTH(R) AND INVENTORS DIGEST, THE UNITED INVENTORS ASSOCIATION AND THE ACADEMY OF APPLIED SCIENCE ARE OFFERING FREE DISPLAY MATERIALS TO LIBRARIES. NATIONAL INVENTORS MONTH WAS CREATED TO CHANGE THE NEGATIVE IMAGE OF THE INVENTOR AND PRESENT REAL-LIFE STORIES BEHIND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRODUCTS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED EVERY DAY. ITS GOAL IS TO EDUCATE THOSE WITH EMERGING IDEAS ABOUT THE INDUSTRY, HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS OF NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND FIND ETHICAL, HONEST COMPANIES AND PEOPLE WITH WHOM TO DEAL.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Joanne Hayes-Rines
JMH Publishing
Telephone: 617-367-4540
E-mail: InventorsD@aol.com
Website: www.inventorsdigest.com

FREE DISPLAY MATERIALS AVAILABLE TO LIBRARIES FOR
NATIONAL INVENTORS MONTH® IN AUGUST

Boston, Massachusetts, May 25, 2002----August is National Inventors Month® and Inventors Digest magazine, The United Inventors Association, and The Academy of Applied Science have joined hands for the fifth consecutive year to offer FREE display materials for libraries and schools to use during this month long celebration of ingenuity. Packets will include banners, posters, bookmarks, a crossword puzzle, a reproducible 4 page handout for kids and a recommended reading list. The materials were created, printed and distributed thanks to the generosity of corporations, inventors and those who want to encourage kids and adults to be creative and inventive.

A survey released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995 revealed that most people think inventors are old and eccentric. Economists worry that such perceptions will discourage people from being innovative, with serious consequences for American competitiveness. National Inventors Month® was created to change that misconception and strives to present real-life stories behind the development of products that we take for granted every day. Its goal is to educate those with emerging ideas about the industry, help them understand the process of new product development and find ethical, honest companies and people with whom to deal.

"We want to recognize those talented, brave individuals who dare to be blatantly creative, therefore different, and whose accomplishments affect every facet of our lives," says Joanne Hayes-Rines, editor of Inventors Digest. "We also want to change the all-too negative image of the inventor as the wild-eyed, wild-haired genius in the basement whose cooking up some concoction that threatens to blow up the neighborhood! The truth is that inventors come in all shapes, size and colors but its hard to encourage kids to be inventive if they think of inventors as kooks!"

More than 4,500 libraries around the country will display posters and banners proclaiming August as National Inventors Month®. Many will set up additional displays, some targeted to inventions developed in their own towns and cities.

The idea to create materials just for libraries came from librarians themselves. "In 1999 we started to get calls from librarians asking if we, as the founders of NIM, had materials they could use for displays during National Inventors Month®," explains Hayes-Rines. "We hastily put together some things, and have since produced new materials each year. The response has been overwhelming, and the program has grown by leaps and bounds!" This year, in response to requests from school personnel, a new dimension has been added; materials are available for teachers to use any time of the year. A curricula guide will be included with posters, banners and handouts geared to a variety of grade levels.

For more information about becoming involved in the National Inventors Month® 2002 Library Program, or to sign up for display materials go to http://www.inventorsdigest.com or Email InventorsD@aol.com.

###