BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. – The American Library Association has awarded the Buchanan District Library with the Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Library grant.

In return, Buchanan District Library will receive online staff training on how to lead conversations and $3,000 to support their proposed community engagement work.

With the grant, the library is set to have a community-wide read entitled, “One Book, One Buchanan: Essential Reading for the Nicest Place in America.” This event is set to take place each year.

This year, the library has chosen Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. The goal is to have 200 participants read this book from July through September of this year.

A town-hall style discussion is set to take place after. Depending on COVID-19 guidelines, the library will either hold this discussion through Zoom or in person.

The project will include a list of books for all age groups. Teachers in the area are encouraged to read books from this list and discuss them with their students.

The Buchanan Art Center is also set to have a corresponding art show in response to One Book, One Michiana. Art submissions will be displayed at the Buchanan Art Center, the Buchanan District Library and the Buchanan Area Senior Center.

Information of this event and updates will be made available at www.buchananlibrary.org within the next few weeks. Questions can be sent to Meg Paulette, director of the Buchanan District Library, at [email protected].