Step Up to the Plate @ Your Library

Fans can visit the American Library Association's Web site between April 4 and Sept. 1 to win a free trip for two to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Calling baseball fans of all ages: Win a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame!

Enter "Step Up to the Plate @ your library" for your chance to win a trip for two to the Baseball Hall of Fame, including a behind-the-scenes tour and tickets to the Hall of Fame's World Series Gala event in October 2008.

"Step Up to the Plate @ your library" teams up two American classics — baseball and libraries — to promote the importance of information literacy skills:

  • Learning how to read
  • Learning how to use computers and other media
  • Learning how to find, evaluate and use information
  • Learning how to use information to communicate

Entering is easy:

Did you know?

  • Americans go to school, public and academic libraries 16% more often than they go to the movies.
  • There are more public libraries than McDonald's restaurants — a total of 16,541, including branches.
  • 98.9% of public libraries offer public access to the Internet.
  • 62% of adults in the U.S. have public library cards.
  • Students make 1.5 billion visits to school-library media centers during the school year — or 100 times as many visits to The Magic Kingdom at Disney World.
  • Reference librarians in the nation's public and academic libraries answer more than 8 million questions weekly. Standing single-file, the line of questioners would stretch from New York City to Anchorage, Alaska.

1. Just visit http://www.ala.org/baseball between April 4 and Sept. 1, 2008, and download the trivia questions for your age group (you can also enter online!). Trivia questions are available in both English and Spanish in four age categories: 10 and under; 11-13; 14-17; and 18 and up, so the whole family can get involved.

This year's questions commemorate the 100th anniversary of the iconic song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” with questions about ballparks, baseball in popular culture, fan experience and baseball pioneers. Sample questions:

  • For what team did "Mighty Casey" of "Casey at the Bat" play?
  • Which ballpark is nicknamed “The Friendly Confines?”
  • In what year was the first Major League Baseball game shown on television?

2. Use the resources at your school or public library to look up the answers to a series of baseball trivia questions developed by the Hall of Fame's library staff. Yes! This is the one contest where you're encouraged to look up the answers! If you have trouble, consult with the "ultimate search engine" — your librarian — to help you find the resource you're looking for.

Have fun and good luck!

American Library Association