1-Book, 1-Community Read Program
A local school
librarian mentioned the idea of collaborating on a 1-book, 1-community
program. I have never organized a
program like this, so naturally I am very excited to help coordinate it! I really like the idea of everyone reading
the same book and talking about what they have learned from it. By
everyone sharing a book in common, it promotes conversations throughout the community
alongside literacy. What is better than
that? There are a few different thoughts
I am thinking at the moment:
1. Choosing a book that is enjoyable for so
many people, children and adults. My inclination is always towards
classic Victorian literature, biographies, or historical fiction. However, I think it would be best to either
have a book that is comical and easy to read or non-fiction so that the readers
can learn some interesting facts to share with others. Since I am collaborating with the local
middle school, that adds the more difficult task of finding a book that appeals
to middle school-ers. I guess that means that an easy, fun read is preferable.
2. A big key to any program for me is the presence of a moral, lesson to be learned, a reason for the program. I like to foster discussions regarding
character education. Especially in this
town, I really want to focus on good, family values. So how can this program which will hopefully
bring families and neighbors alike together facilitate the learning of life
lessons? This is probably what I will
think about most during this project, but as I am sharing my thoughts here,
this is where I am starting.
3. What has other schools done that has been
successful and not-so-successful? How
will I find this out? Other than
countless hours of research online? It’s
time like this when I really wish I had a mentor.
4. How am I going to get so many books into every
family in this community? It’s not like
this is Albany, but we are talking about a large number of books. How will a program like this be funded? My budget will not allow for such expenditure. It is possible that there are grants which
could be used for this, however that means more work on my part and it could
still not lead to enough money to purchase the needed materials. I could try to partner with a funding
organization, but that is hard to come by in this local vicinity. Again, what has other schools done? Saratoga has a community reading program, and
participants purchase the book themselves.
However if I want to get as many people involved as possible, there has
to be none/ minimal cost involved.
5. What is the role of a public Library? I
obviously have demonstrated that I am linking the Library to the school system in more ways than
usual, and I want to work closely with the school system. However, what can I do here to facilitate
this program? I know that I am the link
between the school and the community, but where do I go from there? How do I make this big?
6. Publicity……I’ll think more about this later. Do I dare let the press in on this?? Perhaps if I wrote a press release…..I should
think of what else I can do for marketing.
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