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<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#303030">The ALA Public Programs Office invites libraries to apply for the Great Stories Club, a reading and discussion
program for underserved teens featuring books under the theme “Nature vs. Nurture: Origins of Teen Violence and Suicide.” The project is supported with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).</span></p>
<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#303030">Working with small groups of 6 to 10 teens, grantees will host reading and discussion events for each of three
selected book titles. The Great Stories Club titles — selected by humanities scholars in consultation with librarian advisors— are chosen to resonate with reluctant readers struggling with complex issues like incarceration, violence and poverty.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#303030">Eligible libraries are located within or working in partnership with organizations that serve at-risk youth,
such as alternative high schools, juvenile justice organizations, homeless shelters, foster care agencies, teen parenting programs, residential treatment facilities and other nonprofit and community agencies. Up to 100 grants will be awarded.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#303030">Applications will be accepted from Nov. 1 to Dec. 30, 2016. Visit <a href="https://apply.ala.org/greatstories" id="LPlnk678976" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><b>https://apply.ala.org/greatstories</b></a> for
guidelines and to apply online.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#303030">For more information and tips for submitting a successful application, join ALA staff and past Great Stories
Club grant recipients for a webinar, “Apply Now: ALA’s Great Stories Club,” at 2 p.m. CST on Wednesday, Nov. 16. <a href="http://www.programminglibrarian.org/learn/apply-now-ala%E2%80%99s-great-stories-club" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color:#0055A5">Register
for the webinar.</span></a></span></p>
<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#303030">Featured titles for the 2017 “Nature vs. Nurture” theme include protagonists who are dealing with issues surrounding
teen violence, bullying, and suicide. Books include <a href="http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color:#0055A5">“Thirteen Reasons Why”</span></a> by Jay Asher; <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/248704.It_s_Kind_of_a_Funny_Story" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color:#0055A5">“It’s
Kind of a Funny Story”</span></a> by Ned Vizzini; and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2220905.Romeo_and_Juliet" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color:#0055A5">“Romeo and Juliet” (No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novels)</span></a>,
illustrated by Matt Weigle.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#303030">Grantees will receive:</span></p>
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11 paperback copies of each of the three book selections (10 to gift to participants; 1 for discussion leader/library collection)</li><li style="color: rgb(48, 48, 48); margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">
Programming materials, including discussion guides, related reading lists, sample activities and promotional resources</li><li style="color: rgb(48, 48, 48); margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">
Training opportunities, including travel and accommodations for a 1-1/2-day orientation workshop in March 2017 for library project directors who are new to the Great Stories Club. (Those who have implemented a past Great Stories Club grant in 2015-16 will receive
online training, and may also apply to attend the March workshop as space allows.)</li></ul>
<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#303030">Programs that support the “Nature vs. Nurture” theme must take place between March and August 2017.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#303030">The current theme was developed by Laura Bates, professor of English at Indiana State University and author
of “Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard” (2013, Sourcebooks). Advisory support is provided by Ally Dowds, technology librarian at the Boston Public Library, and Nosheen Hydari, AMFT, crisis therapist at Community Counseling Centers
of Chicago.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#303030">The grant will be administered by ALA’s Public Programs Office in partnership with the <a href="http://www.ala.org/ascla/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color:#0055A5">Association
for Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA)</span></a>, including the <a href="http://www.ala.org/ascla/interestgroups/iglsyc" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color:#0055A5">Library Services for Youth in Custody</span></a> and <a href="http://www.ala.org/ascla/interestgroups/iglsid" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color:#0055A5">Library
Services to the Incarcerated and Detained</span></a> interest groups. The Great Stories Club has been made possible in part by a major grant from the <a href="http://www.neh.gov/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color:#0055A5">National
Endowment for the Humanities</span></a>: Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence. Funding for the March 2017 workshop has been provided by the Ford Foundation.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#303030">First offered as a pilot in 2006, ALA’s Great Stories Club has reached 700 libraries in 49 states and more than
30,000 young adults (ages 12 to 21).</span></p>
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Sarah Ostman</p>
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Communications Manager</p>
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Public Programs Office</p>
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American Library Association</p>
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312-280-5061</p>
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