FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2008
Contact: Laurie M. Kunke, Corporate Communications Director, at (972) 721-2321

IRVING PUBLIC LIBRARY RECEIVES BIG READ GRANT

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced that the Irving Public Library is one of 208 libraries, municipalities and organizations chosen to receive a grant to host a Big Read celebration.

The Big Read gives communities an opportunity to come together to read, discuss and celebrate one of the 23 selections from American and world literature. The Big Read celebration in Irving, which will be held September-June 2009, will focus on The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammet. Activities will take place in October.

The latest Big Read grantees represent 46 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To date, the NEA has given more than 500 grants to support local Big Read projects.

"After completing two successful One Book, One Irving programs, the library is very excited to participate in NEA's national initiative," said Patty Landers, director of the Irving Public Library. "This grant will allow our celebration of reading to reach deeper into our community and provide many great programs to enhance The Big Read experience."

The selected organizations will receive Big Read grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 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.

"With this latest round of grants, I am proud to say that The Big Read has supported more than 500 public library partnerships," said Anne-Imelda M. Radice, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the NEA's lead federal partner for The Big Read. "Through this program, public libraries continue to demonstrate their value in communities as centers of engagement, literacy and lifelong learning. I am particularly delighted by the innovative public programming born out of library and museum collaborations."

The Big Read is an initiative of the NEA and is 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 and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Support for The Big Read is provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. For more information about The Big Read, visit www.neabigread.org.

###

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts- both new and established- bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, visit www.arts.gov.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. For more information, visit www.imls.gov.

Arts Midwest connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge and understanding across boundaries. Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. One of six nonprofit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest's history spans more than 25 years. For more information, visit www.artsmidwest.org.