LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Library is a recipient of a grant of $5,000 to host the NEA Big Read in Lake County.

An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, the NEA Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book.

Lake County Library is one of 75 nonprofit organizations to receive an NEA Big Read grant to host a community reading program between September 2017 and June 2018.

The NEA Big Read in Lake County will focus on “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel. Activities will take place in October.

“The Big Read isn’t just a series of fun community events, it’s a great way to promote the importance of reading and literacy for our community,” said Christopher Veach, director of the Lake County Library. “There is more information out there than ever and people need a high level of literacy to be able to evaluate and understand the information they need for their school, work, or personal life. The best way to increase literacy is to read.”

“Through the NEA Big Read we are bringing contemporary works to communities across the country, helping us better understand the diverse voices and perspectives that come with it,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “These 75 organizations have developed unique plans to celebrate these works, including numerous opportunities for exploration and conversation.”

The NEA Big Read showcases a diverse range of contemporary titles that reflect many different voices and perspectives, aiming to inspire conversation and discovery.

The main feature of the initiative is a grants program, managed by Arts Midwest, which annually supports approximately 75 dynamic community reading programs, each designed around a single NEA Big Read selection.

Planning is already underway for the Big Read in Lake County. As well as the library the Lake County Friends of Mendocino College, the Friends of the Lake County Library, the Friends of the Middletown Library, and many other community organizations will be helping to bring the Big Read to Lake County.

Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,400 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $19 million in grants to organizations nationwide. In addition, Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country.

Over the past 11 years, grantees have leveraged more than $42 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 4.8 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, approximately 79,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and 37,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible.

Last summer, the NEA announced a new focus for the NEA Big Read Library on contemporary authors and books written since the NEA was founded 50 years ago.

For more information about the NEA Big Read, please visit www.neabigread.org .

Since its creation in 1974, the Lake County Library system has provided library service to the public of Lake County with four convenient branch locations in Lakeport, Clearlake, Middletown and Upper Lake.

To learn more about the programs and services offered by the library, including the Big Read, visit http://library.lakecountyca.gov .

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities.

Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit www.arts.gov to learn more about NEA.

Jan Cook is a technician with the Lake County Library.