A Community Read? What’s that?

The idea for the Community Read is credited to Nancy Pearl of the Seattle Public Library.  In 1998, Pearl created a program she called “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book.” The idea was to get everyone in the city reading the same book at the same time, as a way to foster a sense of community and discussion.  Pearl’s idea was a huge success, and in the twelve years since, libraries all across the country have started their own version of the Community Read program.  The projects have different names, for example:  “Wayland Reads,” “One Book One Chicago,” or “One Book, One Island”  (Nantucket, MA).  There is also The Big Read, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (www.neabigread.org/) , which focuses on classic literature titles.

Welcome to A Book Grows in Topsfield

What is A Book Grows in Topsfield, you ask?  It is the town of Topsfield, Massachusetts’ first-ever Community Read. The book we have chosen is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

A community read is a project, usually about a month long in duration, that
encourages an entire town or community to read the same book at the same
time, fostering a sense of community and numerous book discussions. There
are also various other events relating to the book along the way.

How will this impact the community?
• It will establish the Library as the cultural and informational hub of the
community.
• It will encourage patons to share a general interest in the history of
the community
• It will encourage an ongoing dialogue between age and social groups.
• It will affect the way the community lives and thinks about the environment.