Fredonia - Chautauqua Cattaraugus Big Read

            The Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System will partner with SUNY Fredonia and area high schools this fall to encourage local residents to read the Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 451. 

            The college has been named by the National Endowment for the Arts as one of 117 organizations to participate in Round 2 of The Big Read, a national grant program that brings communities together to read and discuss a single book.

            Randy Gadikian, director of the Daniel A. Reed Library at SUNY Fredonia, said The Big Read in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties will be in full swing throughout October and November. He introduced the project to members of the Dunkirk Rotary Club Tuesday.

            Big Read events at area libraries will include book discussions, film showings, exhibits, and special events, according to Catherine A. Way, director of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System. A calendar of scheduled events can be found at  www.neabigread.org/.         

            “This is a unique opportunity that I have urged our 36 member libraries to seize,” Ms. Way said.

            Gadikian described Bradbury’s work as a timeless classic focusing on the relationship between reading, thinking, and freedom.

           “It shows a future in which most books are banned (burned at 451 degrees Fahrenheit), and critical thought is suppressed,” he said.

            According to Ms. Way, “Fahrenheit 451 has achieved the rare distinction of being both a literary classic and a perennial best seller. More than a half century since it was first published, it  is more relevant than ever today.”

            Prendergast Library in Jamestown will kick off the Big Read in southern Chautauqua County with several events Tuesday, Oct. 2, beginning with a broadcast by radio personality Jim Roselle of WJTN from 8:30 to noon.

           That evening between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. the library will sponsor a chili tasting with samples prepared by the Jamestown Fire Department, local caterer Elegant Edibles, Forte Restaurant of Jamestown, and  Friends of Prendergast Library.

           The Fire Department  will also bring  a truck to  the library for people to view, especially children and their families who will be attending a science fiction story hour starting at 6:30 p.m.

          The Friends group will present a display about the 1950's, when Fahrenheit 451 was published. Reference librarians have prepared a display of science fiction books and suggestions for further reading.

          Prendergast Library will also offer two book discussion groups led by author and educator Anthony Bradford at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23 and 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8.

         Dr. M.W. Jackson, associate professor of English at St. Bonaventure University, will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16 on Fahrenheit 451: Censorship and Saving the History of Experience. He  will focus on the ways in which public information -including novels - helps to create the way in which we understand the world.

         The library will also offer a showing of the film Fahrenheit 451 at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20 in the Fireplace Room.             

         A 2004 survey by the NEA survey showed that less than half the American adult population now reads literature. Modeled on successful “one book, one community” programs, the Big Read was created to address this decline.

        According to NEA Chairman Dana Gioia, the Big Read is “about getting people to leave their homes and offices, unplug themselves for a few hours, and enjoy the pleasures of literature with their neighbors.” 

        The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.

        Funding for the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Big Read is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kellogg Foundation, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation, the Fredonia College Foundation, and the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System. The Chautauqua Cattaraugus Big Read is a project of Fredonia College.

Click here to locate a library copy of Fahrenheit 451
to check out!

Trial of Guy Montag
7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13
at the Robert H. Jackson Center
305 E. Fourth St., Jamestown

Guy Montag, the main character of Fahrenheit 451, is tried for crimes against the state. Should he be punished?

Sponsored by The Big Read Fredonia Chautauqua Cattaraugus
www.fredonia.edu/bigread

This event is free and open
to the public.

Discussion leader Anthony Bradford, seated, shows some materials about Fahrenheit 451
to Mary-Phyllis Moore, seated; Melody Houghton, center standing; and Walt and
Nancy Pickut.


Doug Champ and Julie Blair compare notes on
Fahrenheit 451.


Richard Rose of
Lakewood shares his thoughts
on Fahrenheit 451 with
discussion leader Anthony
Bradford in the Fireplace Room
at Prendergast Library.

Author and educator Anthony
Bradford, right, chats with Bill Welch, a student at
SUNY Fredonia, and his mother, Marion, of Jamestown,
before a book discussion of Fahrenheit 451 at Prendergast Library Oct. 23.


Dr. M. W. Jackson, associate professor of English at St. Bonaventure University, speaks about “Fahrenheit 451: Censorship and Saving the History of Experience”
to a local audience at Prendergast Library Oct. 16.
Photo courtesy of The Post-Journal

 
Melody Houghton, member of
Friends of Prendergast Library,
and Edward Cook of Jamestown
chat with Dr. Carl Ferraro, coordinator of the film studies program at SUNY Fredonia, before a showing of the movie Fahrenheit 451. The speaker compared Ray Bradbury's book and Truffaut's film.

Eunice Merchant-Benson, chairperson of the decorating committee for Friends
of Prendergast Library,
puts together a display about the 1950s for the
Big Read kickoff. The display
about the decade when
Fahrenheit 451 was published can be viewed in the main reading room of the library until mid-November.

Two-year-old Isaac Wenger, the son of Carolyn and Mark Wenger, looks at a book about fire trucks while wearing a paper fireman’s hat at the Prendergast Library. The library’s Children’s Room will be holding a fire-themed story hour at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, as part of the Big Read kickoff events.

The Jamestown Fire Department will be bringing a fire truck to the library from 5:30 to 7 p.m. as part of the kickoff events.
 

Prendergast Library in Jamestown will kick off the Big Read in southern Chautauqua County with several events Tuesday, Oct. 2, beginning with a broadcast by radio personality Jim Roselle of WJTN
from 8:30 to noon.

Firefighter Matthew Coon and
Vicki McGraw, owner of Elegant
Edibles, get ready for the
Chili Tasting to take place
from 5 - 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2
at Prendergast Library. Forte
Restaurant and Friends of
Prendergast Library will also
provide chili samples. The event
is free and open to the public.


Dr. M.W. Jackson, associate professor of English at St. Bonaventure University, will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16 on Fahrenheit 451: Censorship and Saving the History of Experience. He  will focus on the ways in which public information -including novels - helps to create the way in which we understand the world.
 

Prendergast Library will also offer two book discussion groups led by author and educator Anthony Bradford at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23 and 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8.