Traveling Literary Displays: Minnesota Book Awards
The intent of this program is to connect Minnesota readers and Minnesota authors, poets, and illustrators. SELCO will fund, plan, and execute program, events and activities to connect SELCO-area readers with Minnesota writers from around the state. We hope to develop personal connections between these authors and SELCO audiences, as well as community organizations which support regional literary efforts. This will be accomplished by bringing Minnesota Book Award authors to libraries throughout the SELCO region, and by creating Book Club in a Bag Kits containing Minnesota Book Award winning titles.
Authors will visit libraries and speak about their books, as well as their experiences as authors, illustrators, and poets. Attendees will be given a survey following the presentation to gage interest in writing literature as well as interest in books by Minnesota authors. We started scheduling author visits for fall of 2010. As of June 30, 2010, we contacted member libraries to submit requests for author visits. After receiving request from member libraries, SELCO worked with the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library to contact authors and set up a schedule of presentations. Twelve visits were scheduled with some authors speaking more than once at each visit.
A floor banner was designed, ordered, and received featuring the 2009 Minnesota Book Award winning titles. This banner will be sent to hosting libraries to display during the author visits. It is intended to raise awareness of the Minnesota Book Awards.
SELCO ordered 10 copies of each winning 2009 Minnesota Book Award title. Book Club Bags were also orders as well as reader guides and bookmarks. Book Club in a Bag Kits are intended for book clubs to check out. Each kit will contain 10 copies of each title, as well as reader guides and bookmarks.
Events have been scheduled and will begin fall of 2010.
Sept. 18, 2010 Winona Public Library
Sept. 21, 2010 Wabasha Public Library
Sept. 23, 2010 LeRoy Public School
Sept. 27, 2010 Plainview Public Library
Sept. 27, 2010 LaCrescent Public Library
Oct. 3, 2010 Owatonna Public Library
Oct. 4, 2010 LaCrescent Public Library
Oct. 5, 2010 Caledonia Public Library
Oct. 7, 2010 Triton High School, Kasson-Mantorville HS, Kasson Public Library
Oct. 12, 2010 Wabasha Public School
Oct. 18, 2010 LeRoy Public Library
Oct. 18, 2010 LaCrescent Public Library
Partner Organization(s) Contribution/Role in the Program: The Friends of the St. Paul Library provided SELCO with author contacts and logos for the Minnesota Book Awards. They printed and sold us bags for the Book Club in a Bag kits, as well as reader guides and bookmarks for the bags.
Program Outputs: Outputs are things you can count such as attendance, number of new participants, and the number of attendees who had never been at a similar event, and so on.
Working with the local libraries serving as host locations for Author Tours, SELCO will report attendance at programs, as well as circulation figures for the Book Club in a Bag kits.
Measurable Outcomes may be collected by survey, anecdotal responses, post-test; End user change in Behavior, Attitude, Skills, Knowledge, Condition and/or Status
Author Tour program attendees and users of the Book Club in a Bag kits will be surveyed about future reading choices and possible future writing submissions to local, regional, and/or national publications.