Library Launches Community Read Project

Library Launches Community Read Project

Roseburg, OR – Roseburg Public Library has been selected as one of 200 libraries to participate in Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that helps library workers better serve their small and rural communities.

The competitive award comes with a $3,000 grant that will help the library implement its first Roseburg Reads community book project in partnership with the Douglas Education Service District and Friends of the Roseburg Public Library.

The one community, one book format will support conversations about rural and generational poverty, housing instability, addiction and the barriers that keep children of hardship from realizing their potential. The library will use the memoir “rough house” by Oregon author Tina Ontiveros to frame the discussions.

Ontiveros was the first person in her family to go to college, earning a bachelor’s degree in literature and a master of fine arts degree in nonfiction writing. She teaches writing and literature at Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles. “rough house” explores her upbringing, particularly her relationship with her charming yet abusive father, Loyd, who spent the final years of his life in Douglas County. Published in September 2020 by Oregon State University Press, “rough house” was an October 2020 Indie Next Great Read and has been shortlisted for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award.

RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) AmeriCorps Participant Katie Fischer will facilitate a discussion with the community about “rough house” on Thursday, April 29, 2021, at 6:30 p.m.; a conversation with Ontiveros on Thursday, May 6, 2021, at 6:30 p.m.; and a two-hour memoir writing workshop with Ontiveros on Thursday, May 13, 2021, at 6 p.m. All programs will be online and free and open to the public. Details, including log-in information, will be announced in March.

Several copies of “rough house” are available now, and many more copies have been ordered. Holds can be placed through the library’s online catalog at roseburg.biblionix.com. A limited number of copies will be available to those who are not eligible for a free Roseburg Public Library card.

Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).