The University of New Hampshire Library and its New Hampshire Library of Traditional Jazz are presenting a free six-part multi-media viewing, reading and discussion series called “Looking at: Jazz, America’s Art Form.”

The library is one of 50 libraries and nonprofit organizations nationwide to participate in the project’s pilot program organized by Re:New Media in partnership with the American Library Association and Jazz at Lincoln Center, according to a press release from the school. The project is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and by the Seacoast Jazz Society and the Dover Public Library.

“We are delighted to have been chosen as one of the pilot sites for this series on jazz, America’s unique and historically significant art form,” said Bill Ross, professor and head of Special Collections at the UNH Library, in the press release.

“Looking at: Jazz” explores the cultural and social history of jazz as it developed as an art form in the United States.

The first program, focusing on New Orleans and the Origins of Jazz, will be held Sunday, March 25 at 2 p.m. The next session, on the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance, will be held on Sunday, April 29. A program on Jazz Vocalists will be held Sunday, May 20. All programs will start at 2 p.m. Paul Verrette, associate professor emeritus of music at UNH, will lead a discussion of each session’s award-winning documentary.

For additional information about series content, multimedia, filmographies, and essays for each segment of the series, visit www.nvr.org/lookingatjazz.

The New Hampshire Library of Traditional Jazz at UNH was established in 1978 by Dorothy Prescott, a long-time supporter of traditional jazz music in New England. The library’s mission is to preserve the history of and foster the appreciation and future of traditional jazz music as an original American art form. It maintains archives comprising thousands of recordings, hundreds of jazz-related books and periodicals, photographs, videotapes, and archival material that document the New England jazz scene after World War II. It is housed in Dimond Library’s Milne Special Collections and Archives Department. For more information visit: www.izaak.unh.edu/nhltj/

 For information about the presentations in Dover contact Bill Ross at 603-862-0346 or This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it