MANSFIELD READS "ONE CITY ONE BOOK"
Mansfield Reads! One City, One Book is a community wide reading event that encourages all the citizens of Mansfield to read the same book at the same time each year in April. The goals of the program are to promote awareness of the library and foster a sense of community through reading. It is based on a program started in Seattle in 1998 which has spread across the country into many communities large and small. In 2003, with a lot of help from Nancy Pearl at the Seattle library and very little idea of how much work it would actually take, the Friends of the Mansfield Public Library and the library staff decided that Mansfield was the perfect size to launch this type of program. So with the idea of using the inaugural program to celebrate the library's 75th year of service, Mansfield Reads! was introduced to the community in April 2004 and it has been a resounding success every year since.
2007
Partner in Crime by J. A. Jance
The fourth Mansfield Reads! program hit the big time! The big time New York Times bestseller list, that is. Bestselling author J. A. Jance was coming to town. Mansfield Reads! chose her book Partner in Crime and everyone in town got in on the mystery. There was even a crime scene in the library. The murder scene from the book was recreated so everyone could follow the clues in the book in their own library. The Friends sponsored a Clue tournament, book clubs held discussions, and writers attended a workshop with the author. Ms. Jance spent a day at Mansfield High School where students asked questions and got their books signed. The highlight of the program was an evening with Ms. Jance. She shared stories from her life, insight into her writing and even her poetry. Mansfield citizens were treated to a truly special evening. The Evening with the Author event packed the library and has become one of the most talked about and enjoyable events in the city!
2006
Presidential Anecdotes by Paul F. Boller, Jr.
The Friends of the Mansfield Public Library soon realized that Mansfield Reads! had become a part of the community. Once the book was chosen this year, it was decided to get as many people as possible in on the fun. In cooperation with the Mansfield News Mirror a six week presidential trivia contest was held. Each week questions were posed in the News Mirror. Contestants sent in their answers to become eligible to participate in a live trivia game with Mr. Boller himself at the "Evening with the Author." The library book club and even the high schools were all talking presidential trivia. People all over town were reading their own copy of the book. Mr. Boller is a preeminent national presidential historian who has appeared on the Today show, NPR, and is a professor emeritus at TCU. Not only is he smart and witty, he has written many books on the Presidents as well as their inaugurations and their wives. He was bound to be a tough judge at the live contest but one Mansfield citizen did prevail and was awarded a trip to Washington D.C. to do his own presidential research! During the month, the library also sponsored a Teddy Roosevelt exhibit in conjunction with the Texas Council for the Humanities that included photographs and his personal writings. This year we were able to proclaim "We know our Presidents!" Next year? Stay tuned. You never know what mystery might be around the corner.
2005
Had a Good Time, Stories from American Postcards by Robert Olen Butler
The Friends of the Mansfield Public Library were given the Best Friends Award by FOLUSA, the national Friends of Libraries group, for Outstanding Publicity Materials for a Special Project in the large public library category in recognition of this project.
The big question this year was "how can this year ever be as good as last?" The answer was invite a Pulitzer Prize winning author and choose a great book. Had a Good Time is a series of short stories Mr. Butler wrote based on turn of the century postcards in his personal collection. The book was both entertaining and interesting and the author proved to be the same. Jeff Guinn has called him "the best living American writer, period." Mr. Butler, who won the Pulitzer Prize for another of his books of short stories titled Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, regaled the crowd at the "Evening with the Author" event and had them all in stitches with a reading from one of the humorous stories. He had done a simulcast with all three high schools via their new distance learning labs then met with select groups of students in each high school library earlier in the day. By the time he conducted his writer's workshop at the library the next morning, all of Mansfield had indeed had a good time. In addition to the lucky people at these events, the people who participated in the book discussions, those who came to enjoy the Turn of the Century Carnival, and those who visited the library to see Mansfield's own American Postcards from the collection of Della Icenhower all agreed that the second annual Mansfield Reads! was simply outstanding.
2004
The Good Old Boys by Elmer Kelton
This program was the winner of the Library Project of the Year Award from the North Texas Regional Library System.
The first Mansfield Reads! was a big celebration. The Friends even gave away a diamond in honor of the library's birthday. The library showed the movie version of The Good Old Boys complete with popcorn. There was a brown bag lunch, a book discussion with the library book club and throughout the library there were many displays on the Old West. Then Mr. Kelton came to town! What a treat for all the citizens of Mansfield. Mr. Kelton was voted the All-Time Best Western Author by the Western Writers of America. He is the winner of seven Spur Awards and Governor Rick Perry said he is "truly a Texas legend". Mr. Kelton certainly lived up to that description in the eyes of Mansfield. He entertained the high school seniors at Mansfield High during the day then mixed and mingled at the first "Evening with the Author" event. He was interviewed by Jeff Guinn, book editor of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, then answered questions from the crowd and signed books until the last person in line was happy. The next day was the Big Birthday Bash. Mr. Kelton cut the cake then signed more books while the citizens celebrated. The first Mansfield Reads! was indeed a big success.
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