Many organizations across the country participate in a program that gifts a certain book for everyone to read. One northern Illinois city is gearing up for its next reading and related events that follow.
Dianne Ludwig, the adult services manager at Freeport Public Library, said One Book One Freeport started in 2011 with a book called “Playing with the Enemy.”
“It’s an idea all over the country,” she explained. “Sometimes it's One Book One School, One Book One City, One Book One College. So, it's an idea of having a particular community read one title and then talk about it.”
The book is chosen by a selection committee that Ludwig is a part of. Ludwig said the group is tasked with something else after the selection is made.
“We start racking our brains as what things would go with the book and what we think might appeal to people in our community,” she added. “So we just sort of cast around ideas, and then we try to see if we can find a speaker who can fulfill that.”
Once that is determined the group creates book-related events for readers to take part of.
Ludwig said she also gives copies of the book to other libraries in Stephenson County.
“If anyone outside of Stephenson County contacts me and say they would like some books for their public too, I will send them along,” she said. “We're happy to get everybody involved."
She said funding for this annual book giveaway sometimes comes from the Freeport Public Library Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts and local grants.
There is a book for adults and one for children. Next year titles will be announced Jan. 10. The giveaway takes place Saturday Jan. 25. A reader’s theater will take place a week after that. Additional information can be found on the library’s website.