About "One Book"

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“One Book" is encouraging the East Lansing and Michigan State University community to read the same book over a six-week period this fall and to come together to discuss it in a variety of settings. Although dozens of similar programs have been sponsored nationwide, this is the first to bring together a city and a university.

The 2002 program will take place October 7 – November 15; the book to be read is Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, an American science fiction classic.

Events will be held at the MSU Union Building, the MSU Library, the East Lansing Hannah Community Center, the East Lansing Public Library, and Barnes & Noble East Lansing.

History

An exploratory group including Wendy Wilkins (dean of MSU's College of Arts and Letters), Cliff Haka (director of MSU Libraries), Sylvia Marabate (director of the East Lansing Public Library), Judith Taran (communications director for the City of East Lansing) and Kristan Tetens (media relations project manager for MSU’s Division of University Relations) met in the fall of 2001 to discuss the idea of a community reading program and to determine whether it would gain broad university and city support. After determining that it would, the exploratory group began building partnerships with other university and city administrators, with university faculty, with students, with East Lansing High School teachers, and with the East Lansing business community. It also established a book selection committee.

Book selection process

The nine-member book selection committee included librarians from MSU and East Lansing, as well as members of the Friends support groups for each library.

The committee met several times over a two-month period in the spring of 2002 to review possible titles. Among the criteria that committee members used in making their selection were:

• a work by a major author;
• a reading level appropriate for high school and college students, as well as older adults;
• a strong plot and well-developed characters;
• a moral or humanistic vision;
• availability of the book in multiple formats (e.g., tape or CD);
• availability of book online;
• availability of film or play versions of the book;
• the cultural resonance of the book within American culture.

These selection criteria were adapted from those used by the Seattle Public Library, a pioneer in developing community reading programs.

The committee is currently seeking public input on the book to be read in 2003; we invite you to suggest a title.

Goals

The East Lansing—Michigan State University “One Book, One Community” project is accomplishing three goals: 1) it serves as a public statement of our community’s commitment to humanistic values and the importance of creative and imaginative endeavor; 2) it connects people to the experience of literature and to each other; and 3) it promotes positive interaction between East Lansing High School students and adult residents of the community, and between MSU students and permanent residents of the community.

The program is creating opportunities for individuals to learn more about each other through the sharing of a common interest. Participation is entirely voluntary.

That our university and community have chosen to read a book together makes a strong statement about the belief we share in the power of literature, imaginative thought, and the human spirit.