New Hampshire Public Radio is planning a six-part summer series called "Granite State Stories: Reading into our Region" on the call-in show The Exchange with Laura Knoy. The series will start in late August and showcase six books by New Hampshire authors which explore themes and culture in the Granite State. The project is supported, in part, by a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council.

NHPR would like to give libraries throughout the state an opportunity to participate. Modeled after last year's successful national series "Storylines New England," NHPR's "Granite State Stories" will get people reading and talking about New Hampshire's identity as revealed through its writers. We're asking for your suggestions about ways NHPR can help you to promote this series among your patrons and encourage more active participation if you choose.

Possible patron participation might include book clubs or interested groups gathering at libraries to listen to the shows, and perhaps calling in with questions or comments. The series would also be available on-line and on CDs for use by discussion groups at a later time. Study guides prepared by project humanist David Watters will be available at www.nhpr.org.

The featured books will include: Our Town by Thornton Wilder, Coniston by Winston Churchill, Dogs of March by Ernest Hebert, and History of the White Mountains by Lucy Crawford. An additional two books will be chosen shortly. In July, NHPR is planning to send pamphlets to libraries with the finalized book list and series dates and times.

NHPR would welcome any of your suggestions or ideas about library participation in this project. You can send your comments to Mike Arnold, Vice President for Programming at marnold@nhpr.org.