Culture in brief: Montclair Library receives Great Stories Club grant
PHOTO BY ADAM ANIK
The Montclair Public Library has been selected as one of 70 libraries nationwide to take part in the Great Stories Club, a reading and discussion program for underserved teens. This competitive grant is offered by the American Library Association (ALA) with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. As part of the Great Stories Club series on Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation, staff from the Montclair Public Library will work with teens to read and discuss stories that explore questions of race, equity, identity, history, institutional change and social justice. The books — curated for the theme “Finding Your Voice: Speaking Truth to Power” — will include “The Poet X” by Elizabeth Acevedo; “I Am Alfonso Jones” by Tony Medina; “Piecing Me Together” by Renée Watson; and “American Street” by Ibi Zoboi. The Montclair Public Library will receive a $1,200 programming grant and 11 copies of each of the selected books, which will be gifted to the book club participants. The Montclair Public Library will also receive resources and training, including travel and accommodations for an orientation workshop in Chicago in March 2019. Gatherings of the Great Stories Club at the Montclair Public Library will begin in July. More information will be available on the Library website montclairlibrary.org or can be obtained by contacting Kiersten Paine, Young Adult Librarian at 973-744-0500 extension 2240. The Montclair Public Library is at 50 South Fullerton Ave.