Insight

              Bradbury classic Fahrenheit 451 selected for “The Big Read”
September/October
2008
A Newsletter from the Illinois State Library — Jesse White, Secretary of State & State Librarian
in this issue
Fahrenheit 451 selected
for “The Big Read”
Sharon Ruda Named
Librarian of the Year
LSTA Grants Awarded
E-R-EXPO
Letters About Literature
Library System Standards
Committee
Ray Bradbury’s classic sci-ence
fiction novel
Fahrenheit 451 has been
selected for “The Big Read,”
a reading campaign involv-ing
the Illinois State Library,
west central Illinois
libraries, schools and other
community organizations.
The campaign, which began in early
September and runs through mid-
November, involves activities such as
read-a-thons, book discussions, lec-tures,
movie screenings and performing
arts events.
A worldwide literary classic since its
1953 release, Fahrenheit 451 is a cau-tionary
tale about a media-obsessed
society where citizens have stopped
reading. The book has become required
reading in most high school classrooms
and occasionally turns up on lists of
banned books because of its controver-sial
themes related to freedom of
expression. The book was chosen to
honor Illinois native Bradbury, whose
name is one of 35 Illinois authors’
names engraved on the exterior fourth-floor
frieze of the State Library.
Organizations joining the State Library
as part of The Big Read include:
Illinois Center for the Book, Network
Knowledge public television stations
(WSEC/WMEC/WQEC), Macomb
Public Library District, Jacksonville
Public Library, Alliance Library System,
Lincoln Library (Springfield’s public
library), University of Illinois at
Springfield Brookens Library, Rochester
Public Library District, Chatham Area
Public Library District, Rolling Prairie
Library System, Sherman Public Library
District, Williamsville Public Library,
Quincy Public Library, Beardstown
Public Library, Springfield Urban
League, Greater Springfield Chamber
of Commerce, Barnes & Noble
Booksellers, Sam’s Club, Sacred
Heart/Griffin High School and
Springfield School District 186.
The Big Read is made possible by a
$20,000 grant awarded to the Illinois
State Library from the National
Endowment for the Arts. For details on
the local program, please visit
www.icftb.org/bigread/. Additional
information can be found at
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 Illinois State Library continued its commemo-ration
of next year’s 200th anniversary of
Abraham Lincoln’s birth by placing banners on a
number of lampposts in downtown Springfield.
This banner is located in front of the State Library
and the State Museum.