We will choose the libraries joining the program in large part on the strength and promise of that four-way collaboration. Participants in the conference will learn about the project and how to implement it, take part in demonstration discussion sessions, and prepare plans for starting the program in their local communities. The National Connections Project expects to draw 1,600 adult new readers into humanities discussions, give 14,000 children's books to needy participants and, we hope, launch humanities programs in the service of literacy on a permanent national basis. Connections series focus on a topic or theme, and typically involve three discussion programs held one month apart. Each discusssion focuses on up to three children's books which participants read with their teachers in preparation for the session.
Participants keep the books distributed in the program.
The three-event series are very expensive. States participating in this project could readily expand the impact of the project by providing funding for additional sites. We hope that this project will be of help to communities interested in serving the needy and hard to reach audiences on a sustaining basis. Connections programs are effective with adults learning to read. They also work well with young or low-income parents, high school students who are poor readers, residents in corrections facilities, child care providers, and others.