Organizations selected to participate in The Big Read will receive a grant, financial support to attend a national orientation meeting, educational and promotional materials for broad distribution, an organizer's guide for developing and managing Big Read activities, inclusion of the organization and its activities on The Big Read Web site, and the prestige of participating in a highly visible national initiative. Approximately 120 organizations of varying sizes across the country will be selected in this cycle.
In addition to the grant, selected organizations will receive a library of related materials for each community's use to entice readers to join The Big Read. These materials include:
"¢ Reader's guides for each book, providing historical context, author biographies, discussion questions, and more.
"¢ Teacher's guides for each novel, with ten days of lesson plans, including writing assignments, discussion questions, and handouts.
"¢ CDs for each book, with commentary from renowned artists, educators, and public figures.
"¢ TV spots and radio programming, as part of a comprehensive media plan.
"¢ Publicity materials, including posters, banners, and bookmarks.
"¢ An online organizer's guide for executing a successful Big Read program.
"¢ A comprehensive Web site, bringing the program, the books, and the materials to a wider audience and serving as a gateway for participating cities to share ideas.
The Request for Proposals can be downloaded at www.NEABigRead.org. The proposal deadline is April 12, 2007, and funded activities should be scheduled to take place between September and December, 2007. Questions should be directed to Arts Midwest at 612-341-0755 or TheBigRead@artsmidwest.org.
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. -- www.imls.gov
Posted March 7th, 2007 by ruzik_tuzik
