The following is a text-only press release from the federal Institute of
Museum and Library Services (IMLS). An HTML version of this release can
be read on the agency's Web site at
http://www.imls.gov/news/2007/111607.shtm.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 2007
IMLS Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, [log in to unmask]
Mamie Bittner, [log in to unmask]
NEA and IMLS Announce More Than $1.5 Million in Big Read Grants for the
First Half of 2008
One hundred twenty-seven grantees include libraries, arts groups,
science organizations, colleges, and municipalities
U.S. military bases overseas and Russian cities join the Big Read
Washington, DC-The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) today continued
its drive toward making the Big Read the largest federal reading program
in U.S. history. The NEA announced that it will award grants totaling
$1,598,800 to 127 libraries, municipalities, and arts, culture, higher
education, and science organizations to host Big Read celebrations of 16
classic novels from January-June 2008. The newest Big Read grantees
represent 38 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin
Islands. The NEA inaugurated the Big Read as a pilot project with ten
communities in 2006. By 2009, approximately 400 communities in the U.S.
will have hosted a Big Read since the program's 2007 national launch.
"In just two years, the Big Read has grown from ten communities to
include nearly 200 towns and cities nationwide. Although each of these
communities celebrates its Big Read program in its own way, one theme we
consistently hear back is that the Big Read is not just bringing
citizens back to the joy of reading, but also reinvigorating the very
idea of community," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. "I am delighted to
announce the newest round of Big Read communities in this program, which
is about so much more than reading."
"The Big Read is reaching across state and international borders," said
Dr. Anne-Imelda Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS), the NEA's lead federal partner for the Big Read. "As
director of the IMLS, the federal agency that funds libraries and
museums, I am pleased to support this initiative that is creating a new
generation of readers. The sky is truly the limit with this
partnership."
The organizations selected to participate in the Big Read for the first
half of 2008 will receive grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 to
promote and carry out community-based programs. Participating cities and
towns also receive reader's and teacher's guides for each novel, audio
guides that also can be used as radio programming, publicity materials,
an online organizer's guide for running a successful Big Read program,
and access to a comprehensive Big Read Web site. Each local program will
include events, such as read-a-thons, book discussions, film screenings,
and library and museum exhibits, aimed at avid and lapsed or reluctant
readers alike.
The Big Read on U.S. military bases abroad
In 2008, the NEA also will expand the Big Read to include U.S. military
installations abroad. Ten bases in Germany, Guam, Italy, Japan, and the
United Kingdom will receive reader's guides, teacher's guides, audio
guides, and other materials to host their own Big Read celebrations.
Domestic bases will continue to participate in the reading program
through community partnerships with local Big Read grantees. To date, 26
military installations nationwide have participated in the Big Read
through these local alliances. The Arts Endowment has previously
partnered with the Department of Defense to bring arts programming to
military personnel and their families through NEA national initiatives,
including Shakespeare in American Communities, the Great American Voices
Military Base Tour, and Operation Homecoming.
The Big Read Russia
From January-June 2008, four communities in Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma,
and Pennsylvania will take part in the U.S. component of Big Read
Russia. These communities will host Big Read programs celebrating Leo
Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich. In Russia the regions of Ivanovo and
Saratov initiated Big Reads of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in
October 2007. A second cross-cultural Big Read with Egypt is also
expected to launch in 2008.
About the Big Read
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts
designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA
presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and
Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read
brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for
pleasure and enlightenment. The Big Read in the Pacific Northwest is
supported, in part, by a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
The NEA previously announced a partnership with the Poetry Foundation
for a pilot initiative, a component of the Big Read, to celebrate great
American poets and the nation's historic poetry locales. Longfellow's
Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts, received an inaugural grant to
support a community-wide program to encourage multi-generational reading
of the poetry of New England writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(1807-1882).
In September, the NEA partnered with XM Satellite Radio to launch a new
radio series, The Big Read on XM. Building on the reading program's
success, the new series is broadcast daily weekdays on Sonic Theater (XM
Channel 163) bringing the Big Read to XM's more than 8.2 million
subscribers nationwide. The September 10 premiere of The Big Read on XM
featured interviews with NEA Chairman Dana Gioia and Mrs. Laura Bush,
honorary chair of the Big Read.
The next Big Read application deadline is February 12, 2008, for
communities wishing to host a Big Read from September 2008-June 2009.
For more information on the Big Read, including program FAQs, the
complete list of Big Read novels, and application deadlines, please
visit http://www.neabigread.org.
Please see http://www.imls.gov/news/2007/111607_list.shtm for the
listing of Big Read grants awarded for programming in January-June 2008.
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of
federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums.
The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that
connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the
national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to
sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and
innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about
the Institute, please visit http://www.imls.gov.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to
supporting excellence in the arts-both new and established-bringing the
arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education.
Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal
government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the
arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner
cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit
http://www.arts.gov.
About Arts Midwest
Arts Midwest connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to
meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and
understanding across boundaries. Arts Midwest connects the arts to
audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. One
of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts
Midwest's history spans more than 25 years. For more information, please
visit http://www.artsmidwest.org.
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