Strategic Vision
Accelerated Growth
The United States has approximately 3,000 counties and 17,000 public libraries – and we want in every one of them by 2026. Ambitious? Absolutely! But many libraries are already offering Next Chapter Book Club to their patrons with disabilities and we are encouraged by this October 2014 article from the Public Library Association, titled: Reaching Out: Library Services to the Developmentally Disabled. It states:“Like everyone, the developmentally disabled community wants a safe place to continue learning, sharing, and growing intellectually throughout their lives. The public library is in a unique position to be that place, and the rewards will be great for the whole community.”Additionally, many county social service agencies have embraced the NCBC program as a way to fulfill their mandate to offer inclusive, community-based programming to the clients they serve.
Did you know?
%
of those surveyed reported making new friendships!
Greater Collaboration
We want to connect the dots between public libraries, social service agencies and parent groups. Each of them values community inclusion, lifelong learning and greater independence for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Next Chapter Book Club is a low-cost / high impact vehicle for achieving that and is easy to launch and sustain – particularly in collaboration with multiple partners who share responsibilities.
Creative Program Development
Our clubs provide a natural way to expose members to books and concepts that promote a greater understanding of self-advocacy, employment, cultural engagement and other quality-of-life issues. Using money from grants, fundraisers, and donations, we continue to create and design curriculum that can be embedded into our existing NCBC model that offers a fun way to engage club members in meaningful learning opportunities about these important topics.
International Expansion
One of the many wonderful things about Next Chapter Book Club is that our mission is universal. We pride ourselves in providing a program that can be run with few resources and funds to be as inclusive as possible to any community worldwide. Next Chapter Book Club is already operating in Australia, Canada, Germany, and Rwanda. We plan to cultivate more international opportunities and create better ways to train and support NCBC Affiliates outside of the United States.
Want to start a club?
This is the first step towards becoming a NCBC Affiliate. Our “Affiliate” model offers NCBC to communities all over North America and in other parts of the world.
How can you join?
Although there are some clubs for young children, the vast majority of our NCBC Affiliates offer clubs for adolescents and adults. Expect to have a lot of fun!
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