NEWS
For Immediate Release
April 1, 2008
Megan McFarlane
Campaign Coordinator
312-280-2148
mmcfarlane@ala.org
Step Up to the Plate @ your library
® swings into action today
(CHICAGO) The boys of summer are stepping up to the plate for the start of the first week of baseball season 2008. The American Library Association and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum are getting into the swing of things, too.
Season three of Step Up to the Plate @ your library officially launches today. The program teams up two American classics - baseball and libraries - to promote the importance of information literacy skills and increase awareness of the library as an essential information resource. The Step Up to the Plate trivia game is now available to library patrons on the program's Web site at
www.ala.org/baseball.
Season three of the program, is a whole new "ball game," celebrating the 100th anniversary of the iconic song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." People of all ages will be encouraged to visit their library and answer a series of trivia questions inspired by "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Categories of questions will include ballparks, baseball in popular culture, fan experience and baseball pioneers. One grand-prize winner will receive a trip to the Hall of Fame in October 2008.
The ALA and Hall of Fame will also host a launch celebration Friday, April 4, in Mobile, Ala. Spokesperson and Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith will be on hand to help kick off the national program at Hank Aaron Stadium, home of the Mobile Bay Bears, the local Minor League team.
Librarians are encouraged to visit the program Web site to register for free promotional tools to help promote the program locally. Tools include program logos in both English and Spanish and a toolkit that includes sample press materials and programming ideas. To date more than 500 librarians from across the country have registered for the program.
Librarians who bring in the most entries can win incentives for participation in the program. The library that brings in the most entries will get a $100 bookstore gift certificate and a copy of "Baseball's Greatest Hit: The Story of 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game,'" by Andy Strasberg, Bob Thompson and Tim Wiles. The next three libraries will receive a $50 ALA Graphics gift certificate and a copy of "Baseball's Greatest Hit."
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a Partner in The Campaign for America's Libraries. Other Partners include Dollar General, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and Woman's Day magazine. The Campaign is made possible in part by ALA's Library Champions, ALA's highest level of corporate members, who support public awareness on behalf of America's libraries.