The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced June 16 that 208 libraries, municipalities, and arts, culture, and science organizations nationwide will receive grants totaling $2,810,500 to host Big Read celebrations between September 2008 and June 2009. Nineteen California entities, including 9 California libraries, are 2008-2009 Big Read recipients.
The Big Read gives communities the opportunity to come together to read, discuss, and celebrate one of 23 selections from American and world literature. The recipients will receive Big Read grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 to promote and carry out community-based programs.
California’s 2008-2009 Big Read recipients (with reading selections) are:
Bakersfield Museum of Art (Their Eyes Were Watching God); Corona Public Library (To Kill a Mockingbird); PEN Center USA (Bless Me, Ultima); Fresno County Library (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer); Hayward Public Library (A Lesson Before Dying); City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (The Maltese Falcon); Will & Company (Bless Me, Ultima); County of Los Angeles Public Library (To Kill a Mockingbird); California State University East Bay Foundation Inc (A Lesson Before Dying); Pleasanton Public Library (The Great Gatsby); Cal Poly Pomona Foundation (To Kill a Mockingbird); Rancho Cucamonga Public Library Services (The Maltese Falcon); University of Redlands (Fahrenheit 451); Riverside Arts Council (Bless Me, Ultima); Rural California Broadcasting Corporation/KRCB (To Kill a Mockingbird); Roseville Public Library (Old School); The Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery (The Call of the Wild); Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library (Fahrenheit 451); and the City of Ventura Cultural Affairs Division (Bless Me, Ultima).
Participants will also receive high-quality, free-of-charge educational materials to supplement each title. Reader's Guides include features such as author biographies, historical context for the book, and discussion questions.
"With this latest round of grants, I am proud to say that The Big Read has supported more than 500 public library partnerships," said Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the NEA's lead federal partner for The Big Read. "Through this program, public libraries continue to demonstrate their value in communities as centers of engagement, literacy, and lifelong learning. I am particularly delighted by the innovative public programming born out of library and museum collaborations."
For the full NEA press release, please visit: http://www.arts.gov/national/bigread/press/bigread2009.html.