Chambersburg District Libraries

RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2004

CONTACT PERSON: Denice Bigham, 717-709-0282 x213, dbigham@fclspa.org

SUBJECT: Franklin County Library System Wins Prestigious Grant for MetLife Foundation Reading America Program

Chambersburg, PA - July 21, 2004 - Franklin County Library System is one of 29 libraries nationwide selected by Libraries for the Future for the MetLife Foundation Reading America Program. The library-based book and film discussion program for teenagers and adults fosters greater intergenerational understanding and communication, especially in new immigrant families. Reading America also aims to increase awareness and use of public libraries in communities experiencing demographic change.

Libraries for the Future awarded $5,000 grants to libraries whose proposals offered the most dynamic programming, solid collaboration with community partners and ability to address the needs of their target audiences. Libraries partner with community organizations that are involved with local immigrants, immigrant youth or other underserved populations. Reading America was launched in 2002 and to date 30 libraries in 23 states have participated.

“Our library is reaching out to the migrant Hispanic population of Franklin County,” said Denice Bigham, Special Needs Librarian. “We are excited to provide a program that will help bridge cultural and generational gaps in the community. By providing this program we hope that we will be producing greater understanding between parents and their teenagers while also producing greater understanding between the families and the library.”

The Franklin County Library System’s program is Generations Unite! / ¡Las Generaciones Unen! It targets the growing population of Hispanic migrant worker families. Teens and their parents meet separately and together to explore areas of life where different generations are prone to have different and conflicting viewpoints. Each family receives three topical books, in Spanish or English, to spark discussion. The library’s partner organization, Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12 Franklin County Migrant Education Program, which provides supplemental education for children of migratory farm workers, facilitates discussion and provides program assistance.

The MetLife Reading America program is scheduled from August 2004 to January 2005. The Franklin County Library System and Franklin County Migrant Education Program are eager to offer this innovative series.

2004 MetLife Foundation Reading America grant-winning libraries are:

California

Santa Ana Public Library, Santa Ana*

Colorado

Mamie Doud Eisenhower Public Library, Broomfield

Indiana

Delphi Public Library, Delphi*

East Chicago Public Library, East Chicago

Kentucky

Kenton County Public Library, Covington*

Clarke County Public Library, Winchester*

Maryland

Howard County Library, Columbia*

Massachusetts

Thomas Crane Public Library, Quincy

Michigan

Farmington Community Library, Farmington Hills

Capital Area District Library, Lansing

Minnesota

Pelican Rapids Public Library, Pelican Rapids*

St. Paul Public Library, St. Paul

Mississippi

West Biloxi Library, Biloxi*

Nevada

North Las Vegas Library, North Las Vegas*

New Jersey

East Orange Public Library, East Orange*

Plainfield Public Library, Centereach*

Ohio

Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland

Dayton, Metro Library, Dayton*

Oklahoma

Martin Regional Library – Tulsa City-County, Tulsa

Pennsylvania

Franklin County Library System, Chambersburg*

Rhode Island

Providence Public Library – South Providence Branch, Providence*

South Carolina

Greenville County Library System, Greenville

South Dakota

Dewey County Library, Timber Lake

Texas

Dallas Public Library, Dallas

Plano Public Library System – Maribelle M. Davis Library, Plano

San Marcos Public Library, San Marcos

Virginia

Loudoun County Public Library, Leesburg

*new sites funded in 2004

Libraries for the Future is a program division of the Americans For Libraries Council, a national nonprofit organization that champions the role of libraries in American life and promotes new approaches to sustaining and developing libraries in the 21st century.

MetLife Foundation, established in 1976 by MetLife, supports health, education, civic, and cultural programs throughout the United States. For more information about the Foundation, please visit the website at www.metlife.org.

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