Author Sends Personal Message to Westborough

In her personal online blog yesterday, author Amy King sent a heartfelt message to the librarians in Westborough. As reported in Westborough Patch, King Skyped from her home in Pennsylvania to a Westborough High School English class yesterday. The conversation was engaging and she stressed how impressed she is with the people of Westborough. From her blog:

"If I haven't mentioned it before, Please Ignore Vera Dietz is part of an amazing project up in Westborough called Westborough Reads Together. The community is reading the book — adults and teens are reading together and having book discussions and other cool events related to the book — and I will be visiting in April to close out this amazing project.

"When I see programs like this, run by dedicated and enthusiastic librarians, I get a huge feeling in my chest. Not because they're using my book, but because they have found a way to get their community to read together. That's pretty amazing, isn't it?

"So, for Valentine's Day, I want to send a blog valentine to the librarians in Westborough, MA. Anita and Maureen and everyone else who spent time organizing this event, the donors who have given, and the volunteers who have helped run the programs. Today's Skype will involve the superintendent of the school district, and that's just so important. Sometimes when I travel and meet librarians who invite me to their schools, the administration isn't part of the equation. Sometimes I'm told that administration isn't supportive because author visits ‘aren't part of the curriculum.’ In one school I visited, Vera Dietz isn't allowed in the library because the principal went to one online site and read a twisted, inaccurate review and believed it, which was as far as he was willing to travel, even though the librarian had read the actual book and knew it was a book the students would love and discuss. So, this idea that a community that reads together will ultimately be stronger makes me nod aggressively. Yes. Yes. Yes.

"A community that reads together will be stronger."

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