YOUR LEWIS & CLARK LIBRARY ONE OF 77 ORGANIZATIONS NATIONWIDE
TO RECEIVE A BIG READ GRANT!
Lewis and Clark County to read and celebrate Tom Sawyer
during The Big Read
May 13, 2014—[Helena, MT]—Your Lewis & Clark Library today announced that it has received a grant of $16,000 to host The Big Read in Lewis & Clark County. The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to revitalize the role of reading in American culture by exposing citizens to great works of literature and encouraging them to read for pleasure and enrichment. The Big Read is managed by Arts Midwest. Lewis & Clark Library is one of 77 nonprofit organizations to receive a grant to host a Big Read project between September 2014 and June 2015. The Big Read in Lewis & Clark County will focus on Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Activities will take place October 1-31, 2014.
This marks the eighth NEA Big Read grant that the Lewis & Clark Library has received since 2007. “The impact of these grants on our community is priceless,” stated Library Director, Judy Hart. “Each Big Read has brought exciting events, authors, speakers, and programs to our community and we feel truly fortunate to be one of three organizations nationwide selected for an eighth grant.”
NEA Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa said, “While the act of reading is usually a solitary one, through the Big Read it will become a social one. This year's Big Read grant recipients are not only playing an important role in encouraging reading but are also developing creative opportunities to involve all members of their communities to come together to discuss and celebrate these great works on literature."
The Big Read provides communities nationwide with the opportunity to read, discuss, and celebrate one of 36 selections from U.S. and world literature. The 77 selected organizations will receive Big Read grants to promote and carry out community-based reading programs featuring activities such as read-a-thons, book discussions, lectures, movie screenings, and performing arts events. The NEA has also developed high-quality, free-of-charge educational materials to supplement each title, including reader’s guides, teacher’s guides, and audio programming, all of which are available to the public on neabigread.org.
For more information about The Big Read please visit neabigread.org.
Established in 1868, the Lewis & Clark Library is the oldest library in the state. The mission of the Lewis & Clark Library is to provide the best possible services and materials for informational, educational, cultural, or recreational use by the community. The Lewis & Clark Library offers a variety of services free to the public, including book groups, internet service, children’s story time, and numerous public programs. Stop by and check your email, catch up on local and world news, or participate in one of our many wonderful programs. Don’t forget to visit our branch libraries in Augusta, Lincoln, East Helena, and the Bookmobile. Check our website at www.lclibrary.org for more information and an updated calendar of events.
The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the NEA at arts.gov.
Arts Midwest promotes creativity, nurtures cultural leadership, and engages people in meaningful arts experiences, bringing vitality to Midwest communities and enriching people’s lives. Based in Minneapolis, 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 artsmidwest.org.
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