The Big Read Case Studies
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THE BIG READ CASE STUDIES submitted to the National Endowment for the Arts 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20506 by Rockman et al 3925 Hagan Street, Suite 301 Bloomington, IN 47401 49 Geary Street, Suite 530 San Francisco, CA 94108 February 2009 CONTENTS Overview 3 Trends and Themes 5 PHASE 1, CYCLE 1 10 Harris County Libraries, Houston, Texas 10 Timberland Reads, Tumwater, Washington 14 City of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut 17 Cumberland County Library, Fayetteville, North Carolina 23 National Steinbeck Center, Salinas, California 29 Montalvo Arts Center, Redwood City, California 33 The Cabin, Boise, Idaho 36 Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, Connecticut 41 Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, Harbor Springs, Michigan 46 Newport News Public Library System, Newport News, Virginia 48 Peoria Public Library, Peoria, Illinois 51 Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 55 PHASE 1, CYCLE 2 58 Berkeley Public Library, Berkeley, California 58 Ironwood Carnegie Library, Ironwood, Michigan 61 Hometown Perry Iowa, Perry, Iowa 67 Pinellas Public Library, Clearwater, Florida 73 Research Foundation of SUNY, New Paltz, New York 79 Writers & Books, Rochester, New York 82 Caldwell Public Library, Caldwell, New Jersey 85 Will & Company, Los Angeles, California 89 Spoon River College, Canton, Illinois 94 PHASE 2, CYCLE 1 101 National Steinbeck Center, Salinas, California 101 County Of Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, California 105 Peninsula Players Theatre Foundation, Fish Creek, Wisconsin 109 UMass Memorial Health Care, Worcester, Massachusetts 114 Aspen Writers’ Foundation, Aspen, Colorado 118 Performing Arts Society of Acadiana, Inc., Lafayette, Louisiana 124 2 Waukee Public Library, Waukee, Iowa 127 Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, North Carolina 131 Libraries of Eastern Oregon, Fossil, Oregon 137 Hartford Public Library, Hartford, Connecticut 142 Muncie Public Library, Muncie, Indiana 148 Together We Read, Asheville, North Carolina 153 Appendix 158 Administrator Protocol 159 Librarian Protocol 162 Teacher Protocol 165 Student Protocol 169 THE BIG READ CASE STUDIES OVERVIEW The Big Read evaluation included a series of 35 case studies designed to gather more in-depth information on the program’s implementation and impact. In Phase 1, Cycle 1, Rockman conducted 14 case studies, visiting 10 sites and interviewing grantees in four other sites by phone. Two of the sites we visited served as pilots, where we tested participant surveys and interview protocols while awaiting for approval from the Office of Management and Budget. In Phase 1, Cycle 2, we conducted nine additional case studies, five in person and four via phone. In both cycles, we made follow-up calls, to 12 sites overall, to talk with grantees about changes and related activities since their Big Reads. Some grantees were in the process of applying for second Big Read grants, and explained their choice of books, plans, and partners for the new effort. During the first cycle of Phase 2, Rockman conducted 12 cases studies, visiting eight sites and interviewing four by phone. While we continued to talk to grantees about the basic components of a Big Read implementation—partnerships, promotion, programming—and the program’s impact on the community, these case studies also focused on Big Read participation and reading habits among teenagers and young adults. In addition to conducting interviews and focus groups with teens and young adults (N=388), we also asked them to complete a checklist on reading habits and preferences. Where possible, we also interviewed teachers, administrators, and librarians. One case study conducted by phone included a conversation with four students and their teachers. Two to three months following our visits, we conducted follow-up phone interviews with four grantees. The case studies gave us a valuable first-hand look at The Big Read in context. Both formal and informal interviews, focus groups, attendance at a wide range of events—all showed us how participating communities and partners host a Big Read, and what impact it has on partnering institutions, the broader community, and reading habits. A rich complement to the quantitative data, these cases allowed us to explore or confirm trends emerging in the general data collection, 3 document memorable events or outcomes that define the unique, local character of Big Read implementations, and amplify elements of The Big Read that merited note or replication. The full Big Read report includes vignettes from case studies and further information on sites, sampling procedures, and research methods. A separate section reports our findings from the Phase 2 cases about reading habits and Big Read participation among teens and young adults. (See A Book Club for a Nation, Final Report, pp. 112-27, for a discussion of participation by teens and young adults, and pp.160-63 for a description of case study samples and methods.) The following table lists all case study sites. Interview and focus group protocols appear in the Appendix. 4 The Big Read Case Studies P1C1, P1C2, and P2C1 = sites visited; Pop. Geog. Site Book = interviewed by Size Region phone Harris Co. Libraries, Houston, TX The Joy Luck Club L S City of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT To Kill a Mockingbird L NE Timberland Regional Library, Tumwater, WA My Ántonia M NW Cumberland Co. Library, Fayetteville, NC Their Eyes Were Watching God M SE National Steinbeck Center, Salinas, CA The Grapes of Wrath M W The Cabin, Boise, ID A Farewell to Arms M W Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT To Kill a Mockingbird M NE Montalvo Arts Center, Redwood City, CA Fahrenheit 451 M W Vigo Co. Library, Terre Haute, IN (pilot) The Great Gatsby M M Bloomington Area Arts Council, Bloomington, IN (pilot) Fahrenheit 451 M M Phase 1, Cycle 1 1, Cycle 1 Phase Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO Their Eyes Were Watching God L M Newport News Public Library System, Newport News, Their Eyes Were Watching God M S VA Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, Harbor To Kill a Mockingbird M M Springs, MI Peoria Public Library, Peoria, IL To Kill a Mockingbird M M Caldwell Public Library, Caldwell, NJ The Age of Innocence M NE Spoon River College, Canton, IL To Kill a Mockingbird S M Hometown Perry Iowa, Perry, IA The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter S M Berkeley Public Library, Berkeley, CA Their Eyes Were Watching God M W Will & Company, Los Angeles, CA The Grapes of Wrath L W Writers & Books, Rochester, NY The Maltese Falcon L NE Research Foundation of SUNY, New Paltz, NY Bless Me, Ultima M NE Phase 1, Cycle 2 Cycle 2 Phase 1, Ironwood Carnegie Library, Ironwood, MI The Grapes of Wrath S M Pinellas, Clearwater, FL The Great Gatsby M S County of Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA Bless Me, Ultima L W Aspen Writers’ Foundation, Aspen, CO Bless Me, Ultima M W National Steinbeck Center, Salinas, CA Fahrenheit 451 M W Cumberland Co., Public Library, Fayetteville, NC Fahrenheit 451 M SE Together We Read, Asheville, NC My Ántonia L SE Hartford Public Library, Hartford, CT The Maltese Falcon L NE Performing Arts Society of Acadiana, Inc., Lafayette, LA Their Eyes Were Watching God M S Muncie Public Library, Muncie, IN The Death of Ivan Ilych M M Phase 2, Cycle 1 Phone interview/ 4 Waukee Public Library, Waukee, IA The Shawl S M students & teacher Peninsula Players Theatre Foundation, Fish Creek, WI The Grapes of Wrath S M UMass Memorial Health Care, Worcester, MA The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter M NE Libraries of Eastern Oregon, Fossil, OR The Joy Luck Club M NW Small (S) = <25,000; Medium (M) = 25,000-99,000; Large (L) = 99,000+ 5 TRENDS AND THEMES 1. Early Big Read promotion, where it was possible, paid off in numerous ways. It created a buzz about the program; brought partners up to speed; won the support of additional business or government groups, many of whom subsequently became involved in promotion and programming; and drew interest and contributions from community members, such as graphic artists, who offered services pro bono. This added to the base of support and created momentum that could be leveraged once events got underway. Pre- programming information and promotion also allowed community members to read the book ahead of time—especially important for a longer book or an initially challenging read like Their Eyes Were Watching God—and allowed free books and read-and-release copies to circulate. Advance notice also allowed some schools and book clubs that choose books in advance to incorporate the Big Read book into planned activities. 2. In addition to museums, municipal offices, schools and universities, Big Read partnerships included new, somewhat non-traditional partners—public transportation, restaurants, churches—that made important contributions to promotion and programming. In Houston and Bridgeport, buses advertised Big Read events, as did restaurants and coffee shops, with free books, tie-in menu items, and placemats. In Waterbury, a church chamber choir led a program of music of the 1930s, along with dance and oration; in Baton Rouge, churches donated free advertising on portable billboards. In Canton, Illinois ministers in four churches delivered sermons about To Kill a Mockingbird. In one, a smaller version of that town’s 7-foot tall To Kill a Mockingbird replica stayed on the communion table throughout The Big Read. 3. Newspaper partners not only sponsored and promoted events, but also explored declines in reading, Reading at Risk, and other Big Read-related issues (Terre Haute, Timberland), as well as topics about authors, e.g., “Why We Should Read Hemingway” (Boise). In Cumberland Co., NC, a weekly column entitled “At the Library” covered Big Read events; the column was popular—and still continues. These raised awareness about the program and the importance of reading, and kept the community conversation going after The Big Read.