ALA Great Stories CLUB Program

The ALA Public Programs Office let me know about this cool program for libraries. The Office, in cooperation with YALSA, and funded largely by Oprah’s Angel Network, is accepting applications for the third round of its Great Stories CLUB (Connecting Libraries, Underserved teens and Books). Any library working within or in partnership with facilities serving at-risk youth or troubled teens, such as a juvenile detention center or alternative high school, can apply.

The program will select 265 libraries to receive 33 books (11 copies of each of the three chosen titles), supplementary materials including tip sheets, discussion questions, related reading lists and additional online resources, and access to an electronic discussion list for participating librarians. Up to 50 of the libraries will also receive grants of up to $200 to assist with programming. The library must hold a discussion for 6-10 teens for each book and let the teens keep each of the books.

The books chosen for this year’s program are:

• One of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies, by Sonya Sones (Simon & Schuster, 2005)
• The Afterlife by Gary Soto (Harcourt, 2005)
• The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin (Speak, 2008)

Read more about the program here, including the full eligibility guidelines. Sounds like a great opportunity to do some outreach into the community and get some books into the hands of teens.

September 7th, 2009  ♥  Libraries  ♥  No Comments »