Rock the Stax - Youth Awareness about Libraries using the Power of Music

Rock the Stax is a concert series occurring at Roxbury Library in Succasunna, New Jersey. The concert series was initiated in 2004 with the help of Steven Moskowitz and youth librarian, Diane Sebastian. Since the program’s inception, Rock the Stax has generated several thousand dollars for the library, the high school newspaper, and the high school band. The biggest milestone we achieved was when we admitted our 1,500th young person. The average attendance is about 150 people per event. The concert has benefited many people. Bands gain an outlet for their music, local kids have a safe place to spend time with their friends, parents have a piece of mind knowing their kids are safe, and the library gets more young people coming in. The concert series has generated interest in the library in other ways as well. More young people are checking out books, and there is an increased membership in reading programs and more youth volunteers. We frequently have patrons who check out books while attending our events. Grant money would allow Rock the Stax to grow to accommodate more libraries, to purchase new sound equipment, to pay for promotional items, and to hire more well known bands to perform. We feel the items the grant money would pay for would help us attract a much larger audience and to continue to inform teens that library’s can be fun places to visit. Please check out this video that appeared on television in 2006 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG6_M-IxRRI