The Knoxville Public Library was recently selected by the American Library Association to participate in a program called ‘Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries.’ Director Roslin Thompson says the library will receive a $3,000 grant to promote a county-wide read, focusing on the topic of diversity and inclusion.

“We’re in the planning stages of what we’re going to do, but it’s part of the Lifelong Learning Series, and it’s to celebrate diversity and inclusion. The book we’ve chosen for the county-wide read is called ‘We the Interwoven.’ The authors are people who live in Iowa but migrated or moved into Iowa from another country, and it’s about their experiences living in Iowa.”

Library staff will take online courses on how to lead conversations, which Thompson says will be a vital skill to be used for this program.