LEWISTON – Members of the local legislative delegation recently co-sponsored an official expression of sentiment on behalf of the 121st Legislature for the Franco-American Heritage Collection at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College.

Written in French, the sentiment recognizes the efforts of Joanne Lapointe, who was instrumental in starting the collection in 1972, and of Madeleine Giguere, USM professor emeritus and longtime patron who served as the volunteer director of the collection for seven years.

Several Lewiston legislators made the presentation in the collection’s Reading Room, which is named in honor of Giguere.

The Franco-American Heritage Collection, formerly known as the Centre d’Heritage Franco-Americain, is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and 8 a.m. to noon Thursdays. Call 753-6545 or visit the Web site at usm.maine.edu/lac/franco for more information.