By Bobbi Schoon, Three Rivers Library Director

The Three Rivers Public Library will host the first in a series of Community Conversations today Thursday, July 15 in downtown Three Rivers. The library won a national grant that allowed the staff to host a series of book talks and open conversations to explore the topics of diversity and inclusion.

The first talk will be hosted at the library and will be based on the book How to be an Antiracist by Ibram Kendi. Some of the future talks will be co-hosted with the George Washington Carver Center or *culture is not optional. A full list of the events, topics, and locations can be found on the library’s website. 

Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries is 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 host book talks and open conversations with members of the community. The funding is being used to provide copies of books for participants to keep, as well as supplies during the talks.  

As part of the grant, Three Rivers Public Library staff completed an online course in how to lead conversations, a skill vital to library work today. Staff will use these skills to host several conversations with residents about diversity and inclusion. At the completion of this series, library staff plan to continue hosting events with additional topics that are vital to the community.  

If you are interested in getting involved or taking part in the conversation, please contact library staff at 269-273-8666 ext. 101, or visit the library website for more information. Free copies of the books for the book talks are available at the library after you sign up! 

“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).”