2012 Step Up to the Plate @ your library grand prize winner announced

CHICAGO — Stuart Wolf, a Wilmette (Ill.) Public Library patron, has won the grand prize in the 2012 Step Up to the Plate @ your library program.

Stuart Wolf's father and son will join him on a trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. at the end of October for a once-in-a-lifetime behind-the-scenes tour of the library and archives.

With a father who worked for the Chicago White Sox, Wolf was destined to love baseball. A love of baseball continues to unite the Wolf family, despite cheering for different Chicago teams. In fact, it was both his love of family and baseball that lead Wolf to ultimately enter this year’s Step Up to the Plate contest 10 out of the program's 14-week running time.

“I had recently asked my dad what he would like for his birthday, and he told me he had always wanted to go to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum,” said Wolf. “Two days later, I saw the sign at my library for Step Up to the Plate.”

In addition to the museum tour, the Wolf family will attend the museum's World Series Gala.

Not only does the Wolf family have a passion for baseball, but a deep admiration for libraries, attending programs, checking out books and using library resources to do research for work and school at the Wilmette (Ill.) Public Library. One of the family’s favorite activities is renting DVD sets of TV shows that they watch together.

“I am impressed by everything my library has to offer,” said Wolf. “As a family, we are very fortunate to have such a great library that provides resources for all our different needs.”

Developed by ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Step Up to the Plate @ your library teamed up two American classics—libraries and baseball—to promote libraries and librarians as essential information resources.

Step Up to the Plate @ your library is part of the Campaign for America’s Libraries, ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe - use the Campaign’s @ your library® brand. The Campaign is made possible by ALA’s Library Champions, corporations and foundations.



The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, a Partner in the Campaign for America’s Libraries, 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.



For more information, visit atyourlibrary.org/baseball.