One Book, One Batavia is an annual community-wide reading program presented by the Batavia Public Library in cooperation with Batavia High School and co-sponsored by the Friends of the Batavia Public Library.
· Encourage personal enrichment by exposing individuals to a wide variety of books and ideas,
· Foster a sense of community by providing individuals and groups with a shared reading experience, and
· Promote the enjoyment of reading.
The Friends of the Batavia Public Library provides major funding for programs and author visits. Additional funding is provided by the Batavia Public Library.
Every year a book is selected by a committee for the following year. Library programs and events are scheduled with the purpose of supporting and supplementing the reader’s knowledge and appreciation of the book.
2013 Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
2012 A Night to Remember, by Walter Lord
2011 Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry, selected by Billy Collins
2010 Playing with the Enemy by Gary W. Moore
2009 Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
2008 Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
2007 There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz
2006 The Giver by Lois Lowry
2005 The Encyclopedia of Chicago edited by Ann Durkin Keating
2004 Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom
2003 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Previous programs presented by the Library related to One Book, One Batavia selections include:
Chicago’s 1893 Columbian Exposition, film making in Chicago, Chicago ghosts, Chicago’s Millennium Park, Civil War medicine, Civil War re-enactors, life in the Middle Ages, and the Underground Railroad.
When possible, the Library also offers musical entertainment relating to the time period of the current One Book, One Batavia selection.
Each year the Library hosts a book discussion of the current One Book, One Batavia selection on the second Tuesday in February.