Alaska Star - Archived Story

Story Last modified at 5:56 p.m. on Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Anchorage Public Library receives NEA Big Read grant

The National Endowment for the Arts continued its drive toward making the Big Read the largest federal reading program in U.S. history, naming the Anchorage Public Library as one of 127 organizations receiving a grant to host a Big Read program in the first half of 2008.

For its second Big Read project, the Anchorage library has selected “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.

The library received a $20,000 grant from the NEA for this project. The library plans to stage a series of programs connected to the book's theme, and will again offer towns across the state an opportunity to join in the project. Approximately 20 Alaska communities participated in the library's last Big Read, which was recognized as one of the most successful programs in the country.

The Big Read is an initiative of the NEA, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture, bringing together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, November 29, 2007.