WBHM Interviews BPL Archivist About Big Read

BPL archivist Kelsey Bates was interviewed by local public radio station WBHM for the local arts program Tapestry. Below is a desciption of the interview and the link to listen to it online.

It's no secret that reading is on the decline in America. With distractions like television, sports, and work, coupled with the reality that most of us are over-programmed, it's no wonder that books aren't flying off the shelves. This worries educators and policy makers who know that a literate public is key to a healthy democracy. In response, the National Endowment for the Arts is sponsoring The Big Read, the largest reading project in American history. The Jefferson County Library Cooperative is participating with Project Mockingbird, a month-long series of events they hope will get county residents reading and discussing Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird. I asked Birmingham Public Library archivist Kelsey Bates why this community project is so important. --WBHM website
http://www.wbhm.org/Tapestry/#Mockingbird