Articles Archives
Community of readers grows with 'Tale' project
Lifestyles
By Ben Beagle
bbeagle@batavianews.com
March 10, 2007
"One book. One community." Kind of dull.
"Three counties. One story." A bit of a lightweight.
"Books in the sticks." We're pretty sure that one was a joke.
At least a dozen names were considered in February 2002 before a group
of librarians from Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties decided to
call their community reading project "A Tale for Three Counties."
"We wanted to get two ideas across. That it was about reading and
books, and also that it was about our area," said Leslie DeLooze,
the reference librarian from Richmond Memorial Library, Batavia, who
gathered her peers on Feb. 22, 2002.
"And yes, it's a play on a 'Tale for Two Cities,' " she says,
acknowledging the nod to Charles Dickens' classic about the French Revolution.
It's been the best of times for this "Tale," which has attracted
about 4,000 readers to its programs through its first four years.
"Tale's" fifth year, featuring author Mark Spragg and An Unfinished
Life, his novel of relationships and forgiveness, wraps today with his
visit to Wyoming County for a talk and book signing at Perry Elementary/Middle
School, 50 Olin Ave., Perry. The program begins at 2 p.m.; admission
is free.
"When I get glum about the conscription of the American imagination
... to have something like this, and look at a crowd like this, bouys
me," Spragg said during his Thursday evening's talk at Richmond
Memorial Library.
"One-book" programs started to catch on in the late 1990s.
Hundreds of communities - cities, counties and even entire states -
followed with programs that encourage people to read and talk about
the same book. In many communities a visit from the author is the project's
major attraction.
"Tale for Three Counties" is notable because it is organized
by largely rural communities and crosses two library systems, Nioga
for Genesee and Orleans county libraries, and the Pioneer Library System,
which counts Wyoming County among its service areas.
Community reading programs foster literacy, promote meaningful discussions
among all kinds of people and create a positive experience for the community,
librarians and readers said.
"I had not been in a small group book discussion since coming to
Oakfield 25 years ago," said Julie B. Caton, who has read the last
three featured books. "I like to have some common intellectual
experiences with like-minded readers, and thought this discussion would
be a great thing to do."
Each year, "Tale" organizers - who officially became the non-profit
Tale for Three Counties Council in summer 2005 - select a book by an
up-and-coming author, or one not widely known in the region. They look
for a story that will appeal to a range of readers, from young and old
to men and women, and themes that will provide many discussion points.
The goal is to encourage discussion and build a community of readers.
"I love the program and the response we've gotten to it,"
DeLooze said. "It has worked well from the beginning when we really
didn't know what to expect or how to plan something like this."
DeLooze, who had previously worked at libraries in Geneseo and Le Roy,
knew directors at many of the libraries she contacted. But not all the
directors attending the first meeting knew each other. In the past five
years they've shared ideas beyond "Tale" and developed new
friendships.
"The librarians working on this program are wonderful and have
brought different things to this program every year," said Nancy
Bailey, director of Byron-Bergen Public Library, Bergen. "It is
great working with all the different libraries and bringing the community
together with the joy of reading."
Beginning with author Julia Spencer-Fleming in 2005, Genesee Community
College joined the project. Organizers at the college provide books
to students and several professors incorporate the book into their classes.
The college is also the site for book discussions that often find community
members alongside students.
"Reading literature is not meant to be a solitary activity,"
said Kristine Dassinger, a literature professor at GCC who led a discussion
of An Unfinished Life this semester. "Great literature is meant
to be discussed, so that we can learn from the works and authors and
from each other."
Librarians at "Tale" libraries have found that the selected
titles continue to circulate frequently long after the author has visited.
And if the author has written other books, those titles also enjoy strong
circulation numbers.
Cheri Sheridan of Bergen has read each featured title, and got her husband
interested in the project when they both read Spencer-Fleming's In the
Bleak Midwinter. They have since read the other four books in Spencer-Fleming's
series featuring the inquisitive Rev. Clare Fergusson.
"If you like reading, and like to read good books by good authors
this is a way to find them," Sheridan said.
More than a dozen representatives from participating "Tale"
institutions gather monthly at Richmond Memorial Library to plan each
year's reading project. Once a title is selected and an author confirmed
- usually in late summer or early fall - work begins on securing extra
copies of the book, planning book discussions, author events and any
related programs.
Some years have included film screenings and a book review contest.
On Friday, six readers had lunch with Spragg at the D & R Depot
in Le Roy.
"I'm an avid reader anyways, but its always nice to have someone
recommend a book and knowing that you can discuss it with others who
read it is so much more exciting," said Meghan Hauser of Perry,
who has entered all four of the book review contests. She was among
this year's winners.
"And to have a chance to meet the author? How can you resist,"
she said.
Frances McNulty of Batavia had never been to a book discussion until
she went to one for the 2003 Tale. Now she's a regular, often going
to a discussion at Richmond Library that begins at 7:45 in the morning.
"I think," she said, "it's a wonderful way to learn about
your library."
Courtesy of Batavia Newspapers Corporation