(JKPL) — The Joeten-Kiyu Public Library has been selected as one of 58 libraries nationwide to take part in the Great Stories Club, a reading and discussion program for underserved teens. This competitive grant is offered by the American Library Association or ALA.
JKPL is excited to receive funding to host not just one Great Stories Club, but three from 2023-2024 with the themes: ‘Imagining Tomorrow: Building Inclusive Futures’; ‘Finding Your Voice: Speaking Truth to Power’; and ‘Deeper than Our Skins: The Present Is a Conversation with the Past.’
“This is a great honor as a small public library remotely located in the Pacific to be selected as a recipient of this national award,” JKPL stated. “In addition to being awarded three times this year, the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library was awarded once in 2018. We encourage our teens to sign up for this great opportunity to be a part of the Great Stories Club! Biba, Joeten-Kiyu Public Library! Biba, Marianas!”
As part of the Great Stories Club, staff from Joeten-Kiyu Public Library will work with a small group of teens to read and discuss stories that emphasize the significance of our lives in the past, present and future.
This “Great Stories Club: Imagining Tomorrow: Building Inclusive Futures” asks: How can we imagine and dream of our shared futures together, alongside each other, in order to create better tomorrows? While the Great Stories Club: “Finding Your Voice: Speaking Truth to Power” and “Deeper than Our Skins: The Present Is a Conversation with the Past” will explore questions of race, equity, identity and history.
Book discussions will be led by staff from Joeten-Kiyu Public Library. The books — curated for the theme “Imagining Tomorrow: Building Inclusive Futures” — will include “Victories Greater Than Death” by Charlie Jane Anders; “Across a Field of Starlight” by Blue Delliquanti; “The Marrow Thieves” by Cherie Dimaline; “The Sound of Stars” by Alechia Dow; and “War Girls” by Tochi Onyebuchi. The titles were selected to point toward the ways that teens might build shared futures while acknowledging the lessons of their origin stories.
The books — curated for the theme “Finding Your Voice: Speaking Truth to Power” — will include “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; and “Anger Is a Gift” by Mark Oshiro.
The books — curated for the theme “Deeper than Our Skins: The Present Is a Conversation with the Past” — will include “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; and “Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.” by Luis J. Rodriguez. The titles were selected to inspire young people — especially those facing difficult circumstances or challenges — to consider “big questions” about the world around them and their place in it.
Joeten-Kiyu Public Library will receive a $1,500 programming stipend and 11 copies of each of the selected books, which will be gifted to the book club participants. Joeten-Kiyu Public Library will also receive online training for staff and an array of program resources and support throughout the grant term.
Gatherings of the Great Stories Club at Joeten-Kiyu Public Library will be scheduled beginning Fall 2023. Be on the lookout for more information to be found at www.cnmilib.org or by contacting the JKPL at (670) 235-7318/7322.
Since 2006, ALA’s Great Stories Club has helped libraries engage young adults with accessible, thought-provoking literature. To learn more about the Great Stories Club, visit ala.org/greatstories/.
The Joeten-Kiyu Public Library is a member of the Young Adult Library Services Association or YALSA, a division of the American Library Association. Through networking, advocacy, and professional development, the Young Adult Library Services Association empowers all those involved in the profession to provide equitable, diverse and inclusive teen services. YALSA’s vision is that all teens, from a variety of backgrounds including, but not limited to ability, class, gender-identity, sexual orientation, race, religion and power-differentiated groups, will have access to quality library programs and services — no matter where they occur — that are tailored to the community and that create new opportunities for all teens’ to promote personal growth, academic success, and career development, while linking teens and staff to resources, connected learning opportunities, coaching, and mentoring
The Joeten-Kiyu Public Library engages teens through its Teen Volunteer program, Teen Advisory Board, Teen sponsored programming (Teen Movie Night, Teen Stall Street Journal, Book Clubs, Teen Summer Reading Program, etc.) and community partnerships.
About the American Library Association
The American Library Association or ALA is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit www.ala.org/.
