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CHICAGO - The St. Louis County Library has been chosen to host the 2011 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture, which will be delivered by Lois Lowry, two-time winner of the Newbery Medal. The lecture, administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½), will be held on April 15, 2011.

“The 2011 Arbuthnot Committee chose the St. Louis County Library for many reasons. The fact that no lecture had been held in the center of the country was enticing to us, along with their wonderful proposal that showed clear evidence of the library's appreciation of the work of Ms. Lowry and how it extends widely into the community,” said Carol Edwards, chair of the 2011 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Committee. “Considering the author’s tremendous range of work, it was quite fitting to find in the library’s proposal an almost equally wide range of organizations connecting on many levels."

St. Louis County Library plans to develop a series of programs celebrating Lowry’s books between January and April 2011, including a musical theater residency program centering on Lowry’s “The Birthday Ball,” an oral history project related to her work “The Giver,” book discussion programs and programs on weaving, dream catcher crafts and storytelling workshops that tie directly to Lowry books. The library also is a co-sponsor of a Metro Theater Company production of “The Giver.” Numerous community organizations have committed their support, including: Metro Theater Company, STAGES St. Louis, Weavers’ Guild of Saint Louis and Pudd’nHead Books.

“Lois Lowry is our finest living creator of books for young people. It is a tremendous honor to be selected to host Ms. Lowry’s Arbuthnot Lecture and it provides us with a welcome opportunity to celebrate her remarkable body of work through programming that will connect children and young adults with her books through all the arts including theater, visual art and music,” said Tim Wadham, assistant director of youth and community services at St. Louis County Library. “At its core, The St. Louis County Library is an arts institution, no different from a museum or theater company. Lois Lowry's Arbuthnot lecture is emblematic of our continuing effort to sponsor innovative programs that will have a positive impact on the young people who we serve as well as the larger library community in St. Louis County and beyond.”

Information about obtaining tickets will be posted when available, usually in January, on the ALSC website at .

Members of the 2011 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Committee are: Chair Carol Edwards, Denver Public Library; Dean Schneider, Ensworth School, Nashville, Tenn.; Luann Toth, School Library Journal, New York; Sylvia M. Vardell, Texas Woman’s University, Denton; and Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, Conn.