Montague Public Libraries Receive Grant for Teens

The Montague Public Libraries have been selected as one of 29 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.

The Montague Public Libraries will receive a $500 programming stipend and 11 copies of each of the selected books, which will be gifted to the book club participants. The Montague Public Libraries will also receive online training and an array of program resources and support throughout the grant term.

Youth Services Librarian, Angela Rovatti-Leonard, looks forward to implementing the grant in collaboration with The Brick House and other local organizations in an effort to engage and better serve the teens in the community. The Great Stories Club will serve as a launching point for discussion and as a safe place for teens to express their ideas and explore possible solutions to problems they face, surrounded by their peers.

Book discussions will be led by experienced librarian, Angela Rovatti-Leonard. Event planning will happen in collaboration with Youth Programs Director, Megan Richardson, from The Brick House Community Resource Center. Great Stories Club meetings will include a combination of book discussion and art creation in response to the reading, as well as refreshments.

The books — curated for the theme “Imagining Tomorrow: Building Inclusive Futures” — will include “Victories Greater Than Death” by Charlie Jane Anders; “Across a Field of Starlight” by Blue Delliquanti; “The Marrow Thieves” by Cherie Dimaline; “The Sound of Stars” by Alechia Dow; and “War Girls” by Tochi Onyebuchi. The titles were selected to point toward the ways that teens might build shared futures while acknowledging the lessons of their origin stories.

Gatherings of the Great Stories Club at the Montague Public Libraries, The Brick House, and the Turners Falls High School library will begin this fall. Upcoming information about program dates and locations will be posted on the library website: www.montaguepubliclibraries.org

Questions? Email Angela, arovatti-leonard@cwmars.org or Call 413-863-3214, ext. 2