181 libraries selected to host Great Stories CLUB book discussion program for troubled teens
Contact: Lainie Castle
Public Programs Office
312-280-5055
For Immediate Release
May 1, 2006
181 libraries selected to host Great Stories CLUB book discussion program for troubled teens
CHICAGO - The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office (PPO) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing division of ALA, are pleased to announce that they have selected 181 libraries to host the Great Stories CLUB (Connecting Libraries, Underserved teens and Books), a book discussion program targeting troubled teens.
In October 2005, ALA received an Oprah's Angel Network Book Club Award for $50,000 to provide funding for this program.
The Great Stories CLUB is a book discussion program organized by the Public Programs Office and YALSA to provide troubled young adults with the opportunity to discuss books relevant to the challenges in their lives.
Participating libraries will receive 11 sets of three theme-related books to provide to members of the book club. They will also have access to a variety of online resources, designed to help plan and implement programming. All types of libraries (public, school, academic and special), in partnership with facilities serving troubled teens (such as juvenile detention centers or alternative high schools) in the United States and its territories were eligible to apply.
YALSA's Outreach to Young Adults with Special Needs Committee developed the book selections, theme and program support materials.
The theme for the Great Stories CLUB will be teens facing challenges, and the following titles will be included:
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"Born Blue" by Han Nolan
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"The First Part Last" by Angela Johnson
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"Stuck in Neutral" by Terry Trueman
For further details, including a list of selected sites, please visit www.ala.org/greatstories. With questions, contact
publicprograms@ala.org.
YALSA is the world leader in evaluating and selecting reading, listening and viewing for teens through its three literary awards, seven selected lists and other publications.
For more information about YALSA, go to
www.ala.org/yalsa.
Established in 1992, the ALA Public Programs Office has a strong track record of developing library programming initiatives, including the acclaimed reading and discussion series "Let's Talk About It!," film discussion programs on humanities themes, traveling exhibitions, LIVE! @ your library®, and other programs. It has recently established the Cultural Communities Fund, an endowment fund created to help all types of libraries across the country bring communities together through cultural programming (
www.ala.org/ccf).
More than 8,000 libraries and at least 10 million individuals have participated in library programming initiatives supported by the Public Programs Office. For more information, go to
www.ala.org/publicprograms
.
