Last chance to
Contact:
Megan McFarlane
Campaign Coordinator
mmcfarlane@ala.org
For Immediate Release
July 24, 2007
Last chance to "Step Up to the Plate @ Your library"
Program concludes September 1
CHICAGO - All entries for the Step Up to the Plate @ your library program are due September 1, giving children and young adults 9-18 years of age their final opportunity for a chance to win a grand prize trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., by checking out a baseball book and writing about how their favorite character inspired them.
To help ensure mailed essays are sent by the deadline, libraries are encouraged to collect essays and send them in bulk. All entries must be postmarked by September 1, 2007, and sent to: Step Up to the Plate @ your library, PO Box 118070, Chicago, IL 60611. No express mail packages will be accepted (Fed Ex, UPS, etc.).
All essays submitted through the Step Up to the Plate Web site at
www.ala.org/baseball, also must be submitted by September 1.
As a reminder, libraries that bring in the most number of entries are eligible to win special incentives. The library that brings in the most entries will receive a $100 bookstore gift certificate and a copy of Lawrence Hogan's "Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African-American Baseball" (published by National Geographic). Three libraries will receive a $50 ALA Graphics gift certificate, as well as a copy of Lawrence Hogan's Shades of Glory.
Developed by the ALA and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Step Up to the Plate @ your library brings together two of America's favorite pastimes - baseball and libraries - to encourage reading.
One grand prize-winner will receive a trip to the Hall of Fame in October 2007, and a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum.
First prize packages will also be awarded (five in each of four age categories: age 9-11; 12-14; 15-16 and 17-18). Prizes include a commemorative hardbound copy of "The Hall of Fame Yearbook;" Hall of Fame t-shirt; commemorative set of 20 Hall of Fame Baseball cards; DVD copy of the classic baseball movie, "The Sandlot" and more.
Since the program began in April 2007, nearly 1,500 libraries have registered for the program at
www.ala.org/baseball to gain access to free tools to help promote the program locally.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a founding partner of The Campaign for America's Libraries, which is also made possible in part by ALA Library Champions. The Step Up to the Plate @ your library program is supported by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL); Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC); the Public Library Association (PLA); the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA); and REFORMA, the Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, an affiliate of the ALA.
