More About the Big Read Program

1. What is the Big Read?
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. The Fremont Public Library District will discuss Willa Cather's My Antonia. Our Big Read program will start Monday, April 14 and run through May, 2008. We are very fortunate in that the Friends of the Fremont Public Library are also supporting our Big Read celebrations.

2. Why has the Big Read program been organized?
The Big Read was created in response to the NEA report Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, which identified a critical decline in literary reading among American adults. The NEA, through the Big Read program, is working toward reversing the decline in reading.

3. How are the books selected?
A Readers Circle, a distinguished group of writers, scholars, librarians, critics, artists, and publishing professionals, help select the books. The Readers Circle includes Nancy Pearl, author and librarian, Wendell Berry, poet and novelist, Jim Lehrer, journalist and author, and Kevin Starr, historian and former California state librarian.

4. How many grants have been awarded for Big Read Programs in 2008?
Grants totally $1,598,800 have been awarded to 127 libraries, municipalities, and arts, culture, higher education, and science organizations to host Big Read programs of 16 classic novels from January-June 2008.

5. What is the NEA?
The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. It was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, and it is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts. For more information, visit www.arts.gov.

6. What is the Institute of Museum and Library Services?
It is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums.
The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. For more information, visit www.imls.gov.

7. What is the Arts Midwest?
The Arts Midwest connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding across boundaries. One of the 6 non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest has been in existence for more than 25 years. For more information, visit www.artsmidwest.org.