More than 70 communities awarded “Frankenstein” grants

More than 70 nonprofits from Angola to Vevay have received funding to help bring “Frankenstein” to life in their community and participate in a statewide read of the book in 2018. The grants are part of the year-long One State / One Story: Frankenstein program initiated by Indiana Humanities and in partnership with the Indiana State Library and Center for the Book. The program also received a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Community Read grants of $1,000 were awarded to 62 organizations. Those organizations will each hold at least three community programs tied to the book during 2018, including a book discussion. Each site will also receive up to 50 books and assorted collateral (bookmarks, posters, etc.) to promote the programs. The $1,000 project funds can be used for a variety of purposes, including to book speakers through a special “Frankenstein” speakers bureau. Selected organizations include:

• Argos Public Library, Argos
• Avon-Washington Township Public Library, Avon
• Bartholomew County Public Library, Columbus
• Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County Public Library, Bloomfield
• Blue River Valley Jr. & Sr. High School, New Castle
• Bremen Public Library, Bremen
• Brick Street Poetry Inc., Beech Grove
• Brown County Public Library, Nashville
• Butler University, Indianapolis
• Cannelton Public Library, Cannelton
• Carmel High School, Carmel
• Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County, Crawfordsville
• Center For Inquiry Indiana, Indianapolis
• Concord Community High School, Elkhart
• Covington High School, Covington
• Culver-Union Township Public Library, Culver
• Delphi Public Library, Delphi
• Frankfort Community Public Library, Frankfort
• Friends of the Rockville Public Library, Rockville
• Fulton County Public Library, Rochester
• Greensburg-Decatur County Public Library, Greensburg
• Hamilton North Public Library, Cicero
• Hancock County Public Library, Greenfield
• Harrison County Public Library –Elizabeth Branch, Elizabeth
• Hartford City Public Library, Hartford City
• Hendricks County Senior Services, Danville
• Indiana University Kokomo Library, Kokomo
• Jackson County Public Library, Seymour
• Johnson County Public Library – Clark Pleasant Branch, New Whiteland
• Johnson County Public Library – Franklin Branch, Franklin
• Johnson County Public Library – Trafalgar Branch, Trafalgar
• Johnson County Public Library – White River Branch, Greenwood
• Kosciusko Literacy Services, Inc., Warsaw
• Lake County Public Library- Merrillville, Merrillville
• Ligonier Public Library, Ligonier
• Logansport Junior High School, Logansport
• Marion Public Library, Marion
• Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library, Mishawaka
• Mt. Vernon High School, Fortville
• Nappanee Public Library, Nappanee
• New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, New Albany
• New Castle-Henry County Public Library, New Castle
• Noble County Public Library, Avilla
• NorthWood High School Media Center, Nappanee
• Oldenburg Academy, Oldenburg
• Osgood Public Library, Osgood
• Owen Valley High School, Spencer
• Owensville Carnegie Public Library, Owensville
• Peabody Public Library, Columbia City
• Perry Meridian Middle School, Indianapolis
• Portage Public Library, Portage
• Salem-Washington Township Public Library, Salem
• Silver Creek High School, Sellersburg
• Switzerland County Public Library, Vevay
• Syracuse Public Library, Syracuse
• The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indianapolis
• Tippecanoe Valley High School, Akron
• Tipton County Public Library, Tipton
• Trustees of Indiana University on Behalf of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Center on Education and Lifelong Learning, Bloomington
• Wakarusa Public Library, Wakarusa
• Westchester Public Library, Chesterton
• Whiting Public Library, Whiting

Ten organizations were selected to receive a Frankenfest grant of $1,000 to hold a unique event in 2018. These communities will hold their own read-a-thon of the book, with additional festivities for participants. In addition to the $1,000, recipients will receive a “starter kit” of promotional materials, and will participate in a hands-on training workshop to plan, communicate about and host their own event. Selected organizations include:

• Cahoots Coffee Café, Angola
• Cannelton Public Library, Cannelton
• Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County, Crawfordsville
• Johnson County Public Library, Franklin
• Marion Public Library, Marion
• Northridge Middle School, Crawfordsville
• Peabody Public Library, Columbia City
• Whiting Public Library, Whiting
• Writers Guild at Bloomington, Bloomington
• Yorktown Public Library, Yorktown

Written by teenage Mary Shelley in 1818, “Frankenstein” tells the story of a young scientist who created a grotesque living creature through a scientific experiment and was horrified by what he had made.

“‘Frankenstein’ is a powerful book that raises big questions about right and wrong, how we treat other people and the relationship between science and society,” said Keira Amstutz, president and CEO of Indiana Humanities. “That’s what makes it such an important book to read as a community and as a state. We want to catalyze those serious conversations, but we want Hoosiers to have a little fun with the book, too.”

Some highlights of the programs that will be coming to life next year include:

The Delphi, Flora, and Camden Public Libraries are working together to bring “Frankenstein” to Carroll County through book discussions for all ages. They’ll also be encouraging their patrons to become scientists by providing robotics workshops and exploring the capabilities and limitations of robots during science fiction film discussions.

Visitors to the Lake County Public Library will examine the idea of synthetic humans, stories of humans creating human-like beings, through a film series and discussion of “Frankenstein.” The series will use the book to explore innovations in robotics, artificial intelligence and biomedical engineering.

Participants will be electrified by the workshops offered by the Whiting Public Library. Patrons will be able to experiment with electricity as they investigate some of the scientific principles included in Shelley’s text. 

The Cannelton Public Library’s year of “Frankenstein” programming will explore electricity, meteorology, and other sciences, while encouraging creativity through a variety of Franken-projects.

One State / One Story: Frankenstein is part of Indiana Humanities’ two-year Quantum Leap initiative, which encourages Hoosiers to celebrate what happens when we bridge the humanities with STEM.