We're happy to have several special guests to help us celebrate the NEA Big Read with the National Steinbeck Center. Council Members Tony Barrera, Gloria De La Rosa, Steve McShane, Mayor Joe Gunther, Police Chief Frese, and Supervisor Luis Alejo are among our special guests for storytime at our libraries.

Upcoming Storytimes:

• Wednesday, September 27, 4:00 pm at Cesar Chavez Library with Supervisor Luis Alejo.
• Wednesday, October 4, 4:00 pm at Cesar Chavez Library with Police Chief Frese.
• Saturday, October 7, 11:00 am at John Steinbeck Library with Mayor Joe Gunter and Senior Program Manager for F5MC, Oscar Flores.
• Tuesday, October 17, 7:00 pm at El Gabilan Library with Council Member Gloria de la Rosa.

Thank you Council Member Tony Barrera for doing Storytime last week at Cesar Chavez Library and John Steinbeck Library. The children loved it!

The National Steinbeck Center was one of 75 organizations selected to receive a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read grant award this year for implementation of programs beginning August 28. The Big Read is an initiative of the NEA intended to engage communities across the country in the sharing of a good book that encourages dialogue and helps broaden our understanding of our world and ourselves. This year’s book selection is “Citizen: An American Lyric” by poet Claudia Rankine. Events planned by the National Steinbeck Center range from a film series at the Maya Cinema, to lectures, book groups, poetry slams, and community dialogues. The Salinas Public Library in partnership with the National Steinbeck Center will host a book fair, a family-movie series, a theatrical performance by the Western Stage, and special story times during the month of September and October with community leaders.