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The
Big Read beyond the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read is about more than finding the nations' best-loved
book.
The
project is also about celebrating and encouraging reading.
Over
the past two months, and throughout the rest of this year, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
is working with partners in schools, libraries, reading charities,
businesses and at grass roots level around the UK to widen the reach
of reading and to get people sharing the pleasure of books.
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read Database
From
17 May, a comprehensive database of reading events and activities
in Britain will allow the public to find out about everything book-related
happening in their local area - from reading groups to literature
festivals, author signings to literature courses, and including,
of course, all The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read UK events which libraries, schools
and local authorities are already organising around the country.
The
database is accessed via The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read website, ,
or searched by ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read advisers on the freephone action line
08000 150 950.
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read Reading Groups
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ have teamed up with Booktrust, an independent reading charity,
to create The Little Guide to Big Reading - a pack containing handy
hints and friendly advice on starting (and continuing!) your own
book club, whether in the workplace, in the community, with friends
or even in the local pub.
With
ideas on how to find members and get started, what to talk about
in the first meeting, and specific ideas around reading and talking
about The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read Top 100 books, The Little Guide to Big Reading
can be downloaded from The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read ,
or a postal version requested on The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read freephone action
line.
The
Phone line
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read action line is a freephone telephone line, open 14
hours a day, seven days a week on which ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read advisers will
search the database for those who don't have online access, and
provide one-to-one advice and information on how to set up a book
club.
Launching
on 17 May, the service will be available throughout the year.
Schools
and Libraries
Libraries
and the education networks have already been heavily involved with
The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read.
Working
with The Reading Agency, more than 4,000 libraries are supporting
The Big Read; and with help from The National Literacy Trust, the
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ is taking The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read into schools and further education
institutions.
More
than 2,500 teachers downloaded ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read resources during the
nominations period in April - and as a whole new range of resources
for teachers have been created around the Top 100 books, it's hoped
every student in the country will come into contact with The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Big Read at school or college.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Big Read Events
Over
the coming months, The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read will be hosting a series of
public events around the country, designed to get people talking
- and arguing! - about the Top 100 books.
These
include events at the Hay Literature Festival on 1 June, The Edinburgh
International Book Festival on 12 August, and at the Cheltenham
Festival of Literature in October (date tbc).
In
addition, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ is collaborating with the British Library on a
series of events over the summer - 12 weeks of writers, critics,
TV presenters and broadcasters discussing the Top 100 books - all
open to the public.
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read Reading Themes
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read online message board has had nearly 14,000 messages
posted on it and over the coming months hopefully it will be the
place where people from all over the country meet (virtually!) to
talk about and share their passion for books.
To
help them do this and to bring together Big Readers all over the
country, wherever they may be, the Top 100 has been broken down
into a series of ten themed categories, each of which the website
will focus on for a fortnight over the summer.
Every
category has a complete range of Top 100 books within it - from
kids to contemporary to classic - and these themes form the basis
for all our resources, whether for schoolchildren, reading groups,
library activity or the individual reader.
With
The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read Reading Themes, everyone really can be reading
and talking about the same books at the same time.
The
Big Read and Big Business
One
hundred blue-chip UK companies are being invited to become involved
in The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read and help take the project into workplaces.
Suggestions
include buying the Top 100 books and setting up a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read library
at work, allowing employees to borrow books over the summer and
encouraging them to come back and talk about them with colleagues;
setting
up ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read reading groups in the workplace, and offering advice
and information about how big business can harness the energy and
enthusiasm of just a handful of individuals to make this happen;
and
The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Big Read is working with The Reading Agency to facilitate
partnerships between big business and local libraries, using the
expertise of library staff to make a success of reading in the workplace.
Back
to main Big Read press release
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