Mid-Columbia Libraries One of 79 Organizations Nationwide to Receive NEA Big Read Grant

Mid-Columbia Libraries (MCL) is a recipient of a grant of $15,000 to host the NEA Big Read in the Mid-Columbia area. A national initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. MCL is one of 79 nonprofit organizations to receive an NEA Big Read grant to host a community reading program between September 2018 and June 2019. The NEA Big Read in the Mid-Columbia will focus on “Station Eleven” by bestselling author Emily St. John Mandel. Activities will take place Oct. 1 through Nov. 15, 2018; the featured event will be a conversation with the author on Nov. 8, 2018.

“With this grant, MCL will be able to provide free copies of ‘Station Eleven’ for our community,” says Executive Director Kyle Cox. “We are proud to build community through the collective experience of reading, thinking, and discussing ideas and themes that raise important social issues. We invite readers across the Mid-Columbia to engage and celebrate with us!”

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support opportunities for communities across the nation, both small and large, to take part in the NEA Big Read,” says NEA Acting Chairman Mary Anne Carter. “This program encourages people to not only discuss a book together, but be introduced to new perspectives, discuss the issues at the forefront of our own lives, and connect with one another at events.”

The NEA Big Read showcases a diverse range of contemporary titles that reflect many different voices and perspectives, aiming to inspire conversation and discovery. The main feature of the initiative is a grants program, managed by Arts Midwest, which annually supports dynamic community reading programs, each designed around a single NEA Big Read selection.

MCL is proud to partner with Friends of Mid-Columbia Libraries, Abadan, TRI-CU Credit Union, and Leidos/Centerra Group to bring this program to the community. Special events related to the themes of “Station Eleven” will be announced.

Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,400 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $19 million to organizations nationwide. In addition, Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country. Over the past eleven years, grantees have leveraged more than $44 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 4.9 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, approximately 82,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and 39,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible. For more information about the NEA Big Read, please visit arts.gov/neabigread.

Mid-Columbia Libraries enhances quality of life by providing excellence in books and services for our residents and communities. Since 1949, MCL has grown to 12 library branches and a Bookmobile. Today, MCL offers more than 400,000 books, audiobooks, magazines, and videos, including more than 60,000 downloadable eBooks, eAudiobooks, and eMagazines. Visit midcolumbialibraries.org for more information.

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more about NEA.

Arts Midwest promotes creativity, nurtures cultural leadership, and engages people in meaningful arts experiences, bringing vitality to Midwest communities and enriching people’s lives. Based in Minneapolis, 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 non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 25 years. For more information, please visit artsmidwest.org.