Make history @ your libraryTM; ALA, A&E team up on library grant contest
Contact: Deborah Davis
312-280-2148
For Immediate Release
January 3, 2003
Make history @ your library™; ALA, A&E team up on library grant contest
The American Library Association (ALA) is promoting a library grant contest, sponsored by A&E Network in support of their upcoming A&E original movie,
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor. The two-hour movie will premiere January 13, 2003, at 8 p.m. EST and stars Emmy® Award winner Kelsey Grammer as George Washington and Aidan Quinn as Benedict Arnold.
ALA and A&E are working together on the library grant contest as part of @ your library™, The Campaign for America's Libraries, ALA's multi-year public education effort about the value of libraries and librarians in the 21st century. Through the contest, ALA and A&E hope to encourage viewers to learn more about Benedict Arnold and American history "@ your library."
In late November, public libraries in the following cities and their surrounding suburbs received a participation kit from A&E: Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas-Ft. Worth; Denver; Detroit; Hartford/New Haven, Conn.; Houston; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Miami; Minneapolis/St. Paul; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore; Sacramento, Calif.; Salt Lake City; San Francisco; San Diego; Seattle; St. Louis; Tampa, Fla.; Washington, D.C.; and West Palm Beach, Calif.
"Benedict Arnold has always been a controversial figure in American history. In light of today's events, this contest provides an interesting opportunity to highlight the role that libraries play in helping people explore conflicting ideas and developing a greater understanding of complex issues beyond the superficial," says ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels. "The contest also is a great opportunity to increase reader interest in how our democracy came to be, while bringing history to life @ your library."
To be eligible for the contest, libraries must have designed a creative display or event around the theme of this period in American History. Participating libraries will showcase this display or event to their community between December 6, 2002, and January 14, 2003. Five winning libraries will be awarded grants of $1,000 each.
"A&E is very proud to be able to promote this important and entertaining piece of programming, as well as the resources of our nation's libraries through this contest," says Dr. Libby O'Connell, vice president of educational initiatives, A&E Network. "With over 85 million subscribers, we can help ALA and The Campaign for America's Libraries conduct outreach on a national scale."
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor was written by William Mastrosimone ("Extremities," "The Beast," "Bang, Bang You're Dead"), and directed by Mikael Salomon ("Band of Brothers," "A Glimpse of Hell"). The movie traces the events that lead to the betrayal of one of the Continental Army's most decorated soldiers. Filmed in Dublin, the movie is closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.
For more information about the grant contest, contact Stacy Krusch, director of strategic alliances & consumer promotion, A&E Television Networks, at 212-210-9180 or via e-mail at:
stacy.krusch@aetn.com
