School library named Step Up to the Plate MVP

Megan McFarlane


Campaign Coordinator


312-280-2148


mmcfarlane@ala.org

NEWS


For Immediate Release


September 15, 2008

Baseball program’s third season concludes

(CHICAGO) This season’s Step Up to the Plate Most Valuable Player MVP is Maplewood Junior / Senior High School library of Guys Mills, Penn. The library brought in nearly 200 entries for this year’s Step Up to the Plate @ your library program, which concluded September 1.

For submitting the most entries, the library will receive a $100 bookstore gift certificate, 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, and a baseball autographed by Step Up to the Plate spokesperson Ozzie Smith.

School librarian Jeanne Rose promoted the baseball trivia program to students and faculty in conjunction with the school’s Reading is Fundamental book distribution. Rose showed a video of Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First” and demonstrated how students could look up the answers to trivia questions with the school library’s resources.

“Step Up to the Plate was an easy tie in with our book distribution program,” said Rose. “It got the students really excited about using all the resources at the library.”

Three other libraries won prizes for bringing in the most entries: Spring Hill School library, Roselle, Ill.; Charles D. Owen High School library, Black Mountain, N.C.; and Grove Family Library, Chambersburg, Penn. All will receive a copy of “Baseball’s Greatest Hit,” along with a $50 gift certificate to ALA Graphics and an autographed baseball.

Developed by the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Step Up to the Plate @ your library teamed up two of America’s favorite pastimes – baseball and libraries – to promote the importance of information literacy skills and increase awareness of the library as an essential information resource.

Season three of the program celebrated the 100th anniversary of the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Baseball fans of all ages were encouraged to use the print and electronic resources at their library to answer a series of trivia questions inspired by the iconic song.

The grand-prize winner of the Step Up to the Plate program will be announced in October. The winner will receive a trip for two to the Baseball Hall of Fame’s World Series Gala and a behind-the-scenes tour of the archives and collections.

A list of winners will be posted at
www.ala.org/baseball.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a Partner in The Campaign for America’s Libraries. The Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the historical development of the game and its impact on our culture by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting its collections for a global audience, as well as honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to our national pastime.

“Step Up to the Plate @ your library”is a part of The Campaign for America’s Libraries, ALA’s national public awareness campaign about the value of libraries and librarians.