The Community Foundation primarily serves Southern Chautauqua County, however, sometimes there are initiatives taking place with a county-wide scope. In such cases, CRCF partners with friends in the North County at the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation (NCCF). As such, CRCF and NCCF have partnered to help bring the Big Read program to all of Chautauqua County. 

 

The Big Read is a program presented by the National Endowment for the Arts and is designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The idea of the program is to foster community partnerships nationwide for the purpose of distributing books, DVDs, and study guides to respective communities. With each community “Read” a specific book is chosen and lasts approximately one month. The “Read” kicks-off on a specific date and is accompanied by events devoted to the specific book, such as book discussions in diverse locations and aimed at a wide range of audiences.

 

The idea to bring the Big Read to Chautauqua County originated with the Daniel A. Reed Library at SUNY Fredonia. The Reed Library was selected as one of 117 sites nationwide to provide their community and its citizens with the opportunity to participate in the program. To reach all of Chautauqua County (and parts of Cattaraugus County) the Reed Library reached out to the James Prendergast Library and the entire Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System, through its member libraries, to ensure that every community in Chautauqua County would be reached.

 

Funding for the Big Read is being partially provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The Kellogg Foundation provides grant funding on an international scale in the specific areas of: Health, food systems and rural development; philanthropy and volunteerism; and youth and education. The community education component of the Big Read is what attracted the Kellogg Foundation to the project in Chautauqua County.  

 

The Kellogg Foundation’s funding for the Big Read was contingent upon a matching grant from local foundations. This is where CRCF and the NCCF come into play. Both Chautauqua County Community Foundations pitched in equal amounts and matching funding was provided by the Kellogg Foundation.

 

Ultimately, the Big Read is a project of partnerships and cooperation. CRCF and NCCF are providing the financial support, while the Reed Library, James Prendergast Library, and the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System are working on the logistics and presentation of the program.

 

The Big Read is scheduled to kick-off in Chautauqua County on October 2^nd, with an event at the James Prendergast Library in Jamestown. The book chosen for the local Big Read is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Playing off the theme of this book, the kick-off event will feature a daylong open house, display of books, artifacts from the 1950s, and science fiction novels, as well as a remote radio broadcast with WJTN’s Jim Roselle. At the conclusion of the month-long “Read,” the Prendergast Library will hold discussion groups focused on the book around the first of November. 

 

The Big Read program is important to Chautauqua County for a number of reasons. First, the program is trying to bring reading back to prominence in local family life. Second, it attempts to show the entire community that reading can be both fun and educating. Most of all, it demonstrates the ability and willingness of organizations all across the community to work together toward a positive end goal. If you have any questions on the Big Read Program, please contact your local library or the Community Foundation at 661-3390.