The Big Read, a program of the
National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with
Arts Midwest, is designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment. The Big Read provides participating U.S. communities with grants and comprehensive resources that support their efforts to read and discuss a single book or the work of a poet.
Plattsmouth Public Library is in its third year of participation. Kirsten Wood, Children’s Librarian, had this share about their experience with the program:
“This is our 3rd Big Read Grant and the past experiences have given us the opportunity with programs to attract people to our library that might not normally come in. We have also had fun social events that have resulted in people joining our Friends of the Library group as members. The biggest benefit is that we give away 500 copies of the book choice and people are thrilled that they get to keep the book after reading it and it is really positive publicity for the library.”
Visit the Big Read Web site for complete program information, application guidelines, and list of reading choices:
http://www.neabigread.org/application_process.php.
