CNY Reads, the largest "one book, one community" program in New York State, will kick off several programs and events throughout the community beginning in January and running through May 2006 that will help both young and adult readers engage in this year's CNY Reads book selection, "North Star Conspiracy" (Penguin USA, 1995) by Miriam Grace Monfredo.
Led by Syracuse University Library Associates and including many Central New York partners, CNY Reads promotes reading, research, discovery and sharing of perspectives among readers across Central New York by encouraging them to read the same book and participate in related programs. Syracuse University Library Associates leads the CNY Reads Consortium, which includes representatives from organizations throughout Central New York.
To encourage the largest possible community of readers, CNY Reads has already distributed close to 1,000 copies of "North Star Conspiracy" to local organizations and programs. Additionally, beginning in January, CNY Reads will begin its "Read and Pass It On" program, which places five to 10 copies of "North Star Conspiracy" at various public locations throughout Syracuse and encourages individuals to pick up the book, read it and pass it on to another. Books will be available for pickup at these and other selected locations beginning, Monday, Jan. 16: Onondaga County Public Library at the Galleries; Syracuse University Bookstore; Dunbar Association; Onondaga Historical Association and Museum; Matilda Joslyn Gage House; Beauchamp Branch Library; Syracuse University Library; Barnes & Noble, Rte. 31 in Clay; Central New York Teacher's Center; Delavan Art Center; The Learning Place; and
Syracuse Stage.
Monfredo will also make several appearances within the greater Syracuse area to give readers the opportunity to discuss the book and its themes directly with her. On Jan. 18, she will give a free lecture at the DeWitt Community Library, and on Jan. 19 she will lecture at both the Soule Branch Library and at SU's E.S. Bird Library. For a full list of upcoming events, visit the online calendar
at: http://library.syr.edu/cnyreads/events.html.
CNY Reads is also hosting three contests this winter related to "North Star Conspiracy." The first, open to both adults and students through grade 12, is an essay contest where readers are asked to write a piece of no more than 500 words that reacts to a specific quote in the book. The other two contests, open only to students, are the High School Art Contest, a juried art competition with selected works to be displayed at the Delavan Art Gallery, and a poetry contest where students are asked to respond to some aspect of "North Star Conspiracy" through verse. Full details of all three contests are available at http://library.syr.edu/cnyreads/contests.html).
The CNY Reads web site (http://library.syr.edu/cnyreads) continues to serve as both a source of information on "North Star Conspiracy" and as a portal for community dialogue on the book. The site includes a full calendar of CNY Reads events through May 2006, as well as historical background and resources on the topics covered in "North Star Conspiracy," including the Underground Railroad. The website will also feature an interactive section within which all members of the University community-faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents, friends and the local community-can share their personal reflections and perspectives about important issues and themes raised in the book.
For more information on the CNY Reads program and consortium, contact Gregory Griffin at the SU Library at 443-2537 or
grgriffi@syr.edu.
