One Book, One Community—The Pianist

2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount

$1,000

Project of

Traverse des Sioux Library Cooperative Legacy Grant SFY 2014 - SFY 2015

Fund Source

Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund

Recipient Type

Libraries

Status

Completed

Start Date

April 2015

End Date

May 2015

Activity Type

Education/Outreach/Engagement

Counties Affected

Nicollet

Project Overview

For our 4th Annual Community Read we selected the book, The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman, the true story of one man’s survival in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation in WWII. The premise of our event is not just that everyone reads, the same book but that participants learn something along the way. We gave away 500 copies of the book, many through our local business partners that acted as pick-up sites. We also purchased a Book Club Bag and 3 additional copies of the book (in addition to our existing 3) to circulate at the library after people kept requesting copies when all the free ones were gone. Programs this year included the screening of the documentary, The Path to Nazi Genocide; a book discussion led by Beth Christensen, former English teacher and event co-planner; and a presentation by Joni Sussman, the daughter of Holocaust survivors. This year we were fortunate to be able to schedule a traveling photographic exhibit, Transfer of Memory, made up of portraits and stories of Holocaust survivors living in the Twin Cities. VINE Adult Community Center housed the exhibit and also collaborated with the community read by setting up a bus trip to Temple Israel Synagogue in Minneapolis.

Project Details

457

Project Details: 2015 Fiscal Year

Legal Citation / Subdivision

Laws of Minnesota for 2013 Chapter 137, Article 4, Section 2, Subdivision 4

2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount

$1,000

Other Funds Leveraged

$500

Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Participants read the book and had multiple opportunities to gain knowledge about the book’s topic. Attendance at each program this year was about double that of previous years. A total of 163 people participated in the three library programs. Over 219 people visited the Transfer of Memory exhibit (based on signatures in the guest book). The bus trip was so popular that a second bus had to be booked.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Source of Additional Funds

Delta Kappa Gamma Women Educators, Beth Christensen, Joni Sussman, Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, City of North Mankato, Mankato Community Education, VINE Faith in Action, South Central College, Dino’s Pizzeria, Mark’s Be