Big Read Returning to Waukesha With 'Into the Beautiful North'

Editor's Note: The following information was provided to Patch via a news release from the Waukesha Public Library.

Waukesha Public Library recently announced that it has received a grant of $16,000 to host The Big Read in Waukesha.

The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment. The BigRead is managed by Arts Midwest.

Waukesha Public Library is one of 77 nonprofit organizations to receive a grant to host a Big Read project between September 2013 and June 2014.

The Big Read in Waukesha will focus on Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea. Activities will take place Sept. 27 and Nov. 3.

"We are pleased and honored to once again partner with the National Endowment for the Arts and the award-winning Big Read program for the fourth time in seven years,” said Grant Lynch, Executive Director of Waukesha Public Library. “This particular grant, the largest that we have ever received, is a testament to the outstanding reach and immeasurable impact of the 'Waukesha Reads' series, and receipt further solidifies our role as a leader of public libraries across the nation.

"The financial and complementary event resources from the NEA present the Waukesha Public Library with a unique opportunity to bring about brand new programs, high-quality materials in multiple languages and much, much more to our expanding community of readers in the City of Waukesha and beyond."

Everyone is invited to stop by the Library on Friday, May 31, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. to help celebrate this award, learn more about the selected title and enter a drawing for a chance to win a copy of the book. Ten lucky winners will be able to get a head start on theirreading for this fall event.

“It's wonderful to see that these 77 communities are making reading and the celebration of books a priority,” said NEA Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa. “I look forward to seeing the innovative ways they find to engage their community in these great works of classic and contemporary literature."

The Big Read provides communities nationwide with the opportunity to read, discuss, and celebrate one of 31 selections from U.S. and world literature. The 77 selected organizations will receive Big Read grants to promote and carry out community-based reading programs featuring activities such as read-a-thons, book discussions, lectures, movie screenings, and performing arts events.

Participating communities also receive high-quality, free-of-charge educational materials to supplement each title, including Reader’s, Teacher’s, and Audio Guides, which also are available for download on neabigread.org. For more information about The Big Read please visit neabigread.org.