From the American Library Association:
I. Program Description
The ALA Great Stories Club is a thematic reading and discussion program that engages teens who are facing difficult challenges through literature-based library outreach programs. The “Deeper Than Our Skins” and “Finding Your Voice” series will feature books that explore questions of race, equity, identity, and history. Implementation of both series is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Participating libraries will work with small groups of approximately 10 teens; provide up to four theme-related books for each participant to keep as their own; and convene opportunities for exploration and discussion of relevant humanities content among peers. Book discussions will be led by an experienced programming librarian, often in cooperation with staff from a partner organization or department, such as teachers and counselors.
Because the Great Stories Club seeks to engage libraries in different areas of the country, serving high-need and diverse groups of teen readers, ALA invites interested librarians to get in touch if there is a specific need for flexibility with the program model or requirements.
The goals of the Great Stories Club and these series are to:
- provide specialized library outreach programming to underserved youth, particularly those who are engaged with alternative education programs, the juvenile justice system, residential treatment programs, and other social service organizations in their community;
- connect participating youth with powerful works of young adult literature that will facilitate personal exploration of and group discussions about issues of racial and ethnic identity, racism and equity;
- inspire teens to consider “big questions” about the world around them and their place in it, affecting how they view themselves as thinkers, creators, and contributors; and
- facilitate reflection and discussion of future opportunities for positive change that will help all people recognize one another’s humanity and value, inspired by the readings and activities.
The project also seeks to make a positive impact at the institutional and community level by:
- prioritizing specialized, literature-based library programming for underserved groups;
- establishing new partnerships between public libraries and community and cultural organizations;
- providing a curated collection of literary programming resources.
For each themed series described in Section II below, ALA will award up to 50 Great Stories Club grants to eligible institutions around the country. Up to 50 libraries will be selected to receive a “Deeper Than Our Skins” grant, and up to 50 libraries will be selected to receive a “Finding Your Voice” grant. Up to 100 grants on the themes below will be awarded to eligible institutions around the country to support program implementation.
Participating sites will host at least one reading and discussion event for each of the selected titles on the reading list.
All Great Stories Club programs hosted as part of each series must take place between August 1, 2023—May 31, 2024.
II. Key Theme and Supporting Works
Applications will be accepted for the two Great Stories Club themes described below. Libraries may apply to host only one series during the 10-month project term, August 1, 2023—May 31, 2024.
“Deeper Than Our Skins: The Present is a Conversation with the Past”
Introduction by Maria Sachiko Cecire, Director of Experimental Humanities and Assistant Professor of Literature at Bard College
“The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” As a candidate for president in 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama used these words to argue that we can only ever truly understand — and begin to overcome — the bitterness of modern race relations in the light of brave and accurate accounting of history. Obama’s line is a slightly altered version of a quote from Southern author William Faulkner; in other words, he turned to literature as a source of wisdom about the difficult subject of race in America and built upon what he found there to imagine new pathways towards justice, healing, and unity.
The “Deeper Than Our Skins” theme is grounded in literature that can help us look beneath the surface of racism in America to reveal how the past is alive in the present. This theme uses powerful stories of oppression, resistance, suffering, and triumph to identify the roots of racialized experience in the United States, and to inspire discussions around how to construct more equitable futures for the people in our nation and world.
Through fiction, nonfiction, comics, poetry, short stories, and art, these works uncover the often-hidden histories of America’s Native, enslaved, and immigrant communities. They offer points of connection that reach across time and cultures to affirm our shared humanity, while recognizing the importance of remembering and recounting unique origins and narratives. From Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, written as a letter to his teenage son in the age of Black Lives Matter; to the intertwining of family secrets and Puerto Rican heritage in Sonia Manzano’s novel about the 1969 youth-led uprising in Spanish Harlem; to the vibrant array of experiences, nations, and identities represented in the multimedia collection Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices, the works in “Deeper Than Our Skins” empower young people to use knowledge of the past to explore their own intersectional identities, empathize with others, and identify how they can be agents of racial healing and change in the world.
Reading list
Applicant libraries may select up to four books from the reading list below.
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano
- Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices, edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale
- The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by Sonny Liew
- Mother of the Sea by Zetta Elliott
- Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. by Luis J. Rodriguez
“Finding Your Voice: Speaking Truth to Power”
Introduction by Susana M. Morris, Associate Professor of Literature, Media, and Communication at the Georgia Institute of Technology
The old adage goes, “children should be seen and not heard.” That conventional wisdom implies that speaking up and out is the exclusive realm of adults. It also suggests that young people don’t have important things to say — that they should stay out of adult conversation.
The truth is that young people have been vital to making change by speaking and showing up in the face of adversity. Take Joan of Arc, for example. In 1429, while just 18 years old, she led a French army to the besieged city of Orléans in a victory over the English. But we don’t have to go back to 15th-century France to find young heroes. On November 14, 1960, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first African American child to integrate a white Southern elementary school. Her mother and U.S. marshals had to escort young Ruby to class because of violent mobs in her hometown of New Orleans. Bridges was born the same year that Brown v. Board of Education made “separate but equal” public spaces illegal, and her bravery was a milestone in the Civil Rights movement.
There are countless examples of young people taking a stand against injustice. “Finding Your Voice” includes texts that highlight the necessity and power of young people speaking up, despite challenges, social pressure, and even the threat of bigger dangers. Whether it is finding righteous anger as a superpower in Mark Oshiro’s Anger is a Gift or speaking up through poetry and art as in Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X, “Finding Your Voice” features young people taking a stand against racism and other injustices in order to make the world a better place.
Reading list
Applicant libraries may select up to four books from the reading list below.
- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
- I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina
- Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
- Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
- American Street by Ibi Zoboi
- Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro
V. Requirements for Grantees
- Each library must implement the humanities-based book discussion programs and related sessions described in their application (in cooperation with their program partner, if applicable).
- Each library must hold a minimum of one discussion program for each book they select, with participation by at least 8-10 young adults.
- The library project director must attend the virtual orientation workshop (July 2023, for “Deeper Than Our Skins” grantees; July 2023, for “Finding Your Voice” grantees).
- Grantees must confirm their programming schedules with ALA by August 1, 2023.
- Up to one copy of each book may be retained for use by the book discussion leader and one copy may remain in the library collection.
- The libraries must supply the remaining books to participating teens to keep. The books will not revert to the library collection, but be a gift to the participants. Please contact ALA if there is an institutional barrier to this requirement.
- The library must complete an online final report form by the June 28, 2024, deadline, or within 30 days of their last program, whichever comes first. Libraries will also be asked to participate in project evaluation activities, which will be led by PIE Org, ALA’s third-party evaluator.
VI. Eligibility
Applications will be accepted from all types of libraries (public, school, academic, special, etc.) in the United States and its territories that meet one of the following criteria:
- The applicant library is located within an organization that reaches underserved, under-resourced, and/or at-risk teens (e.g., alternative high school, juvenile detention facility, tribal library), OR;
- The applicant library is working with a partner organization that reaches underserved, under-resourced, and/or at-risk teens. Possible partner organizations include but are not limited to juvenile justice facilities, drug/alcohol rehabilitation centers, nonprofits serving teen parents, alternative high schools, agencies serving teenaged foster children, and shelters serving young adults and families experiencing homelessness. Please contact publicprograms@ala.org if you have a question about partner eligibility or would like feedback on a prospective partner organization’s fit for the project.
NOTE: Applications from public libraries, high school libraries, community college libraries, or others that are submitted without an appropriate partner organization MUST INCLUDE a plan to recruit a high-need teen population to be considered eligible. Please contact publicprograms@ala.org prior to applying if you feel that your circumstances merit special consideration or discussion.
Individuals and organizations other than libraries are not eligible to apply. Late, incomplete, or ineligible applications will not be reviewed.
Get more information from the ALA’s website!
