Monday, October 12, 2009

Great Stories Club

I am on the Outreach to Young Adults with Special Needs Committee (YALSA, Young Adult Library Services Association).

One of the projects I've worked on is the Great Stories Club; below is the information from ALA (American Library Association).

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Connect with hard-to-reach, underserved teens by conducting a Great Stories CLUB (Connecting Libraries, Underserved teens, and Books) reading and discussion program in your library. Online applications will be accepted through November 2 at www.ala.org/greatstories.

The Great Stories Club reaches underserved, troubled teen populations through books that are relevant to their lives. Libraries located within or working in partnership with facilities serving troubled teens (including juvenile justice facilities, alternative high schools, drug rehabilitation centers and nonprofits serving teen parents) are eligible to apply.

Following the application process, 265 libraries will receive 11 sets of three theme-related books to provide to members of the book club to keep, along with online resources to plan and implement the program. Additionally, up to 50 libraries will receive cash grants of up to $200 to assist with program related expenses.

YALSA's Outreach to Young Adults with Special Needs Committee selected "New Horizons" as the Great Stories Club theme, along with the following titles:

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)

(Edited by Liz B to add: here are Booklist reviews for all three titles)

For tips on preparing an application, guidelines and the online application, visit www.ala.org/greatstories. With questions, please contact the ALA Public Programs Office at publicprograms@ala.org.

ALA Public Programs Office
50 E. Huron, Chicago IL 60611
(800) 545-2433, ext. 5045
www.ala.org/publicprograms


© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

4 comments:

Color Online said...

Thanks for the information, Liz!

Carol H Rasco said...

Liz, for anyone who might contact YALSA about continuing past this original grant please feel free to refer the programs to RIF as we have some programs in facilities like those named and would be delighted to discuss it with the groups. Contact information can be obtained at www.rif.org. Thank you for this post!

Anonymous said...

Wow, this sounds incredible! Thanks for the post!!

Another idea for receiving books is through Scholastic. They're always having promotions. Currently, classrooms can receive books by collecting Kleenex tabs and Sunny D labels. You can also get books, a dvd player, a digital camera, etc. by sending in receipts for Lysol products.

These are great opportunities for classrooms in need!!!

www.scholastic.com/kleenex
www.scholastic.com/sunnyd
www.scholastic.com/lysol

Unknown said...

Thanks for the post and your work on the committee, Liz.

I'd also encourage people interested in the GSC to check out the Resources for Program Directors at the ALA site, which has a lot more detailed info, feedback from participants, and the related reading guide: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/ppo/programming/greatstories/gscround3projdir.cfm And my recent post on the YALSA blog that features an interview with a committee member and grant recipient: http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2009/09/29/great-stories-about-the-great-stories-club/ Hopefully I'll have another one up this week or next.

Thanks again! :)