Bringing the Arts into the Library

Carol Smallwood

Jan 2014 · American Library Association

About this ebook

Using a library’s facilities to bring arts to the community is not only a valuable service, but also a wonderful marketing and outreach opportunity, a tangible way to show the public that libraries offer value, thus shoring up grassroots support. Editor Smallwood has combed the country finding examples of programs implemented by a variety of different types of libraries to enrich, educate, and entertain patrons through the arts. Her book shares such successful efforts as

• Poetry programs in the public library
• Gatherings for local authors at the community college
• Creative writing in middle schools
• Multicultural arts presentations at the university library
• Initiatives to fight illiteracy through the arts

The amazing creativity and resourcefulness found in each example provide practical models which can be adapted to any library environment, inspiring librarians looking for unique programming ideas.

About the author

Carol Smallwood received her MLS from Western Michigan University and her MA in history from Eastern Michigan University. She is the author or editor of numerous books for Scarecrow, McFarland, Libraries Unlimited, Pudding House Publications, Peter Lang, and others. Some other credits include The Writer’s Chronicle, Journal of Formal Poetry, Detroit News, Instructor, English Journal, and Michigan Feminist Studies. Her novel, Lily's Odyssey, appeared in 2010; she coedited the anthology Contemporary American Women: Our Defining Passages (2009), and she has a short story in Best New Writing 2010. A 2009 National Federation of State Poetry Societies Award Winner and a finalist for the 2009 Eric Hoffer Award for prose, she has experience in school, public, and special libraries and has served as a library consultant. She is also the author of Compartments, a new volume of poetry, and co-editor of the anthologies Women Writing on Family and Women on Poetry.