Step Up to the Plate @ Your Library

Stuart Wolf (far right), a Wilmette (Ill.) Public Library patron and grand prize winner of the 2012 Step Up to the Plate @ your library contest, stands with his son William in front of baseball legend Bill Veeck’s Hall of Fame plaque October 27 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Joining Wolf and his son are, from left, Wolf’s sister Julie and his father, Sherman (who once worked for Veeck at the Chicago White Sox). As the winner of the contest, Wolf and his family toured the museum and attended its World Series gala. It was Wolf’s love of  family and baseball that inspired him to enter this year’s Step Up to the Plate contest, which he did for 10 weeks out of the program’s 14-week running time. “I had recently asked my dad what he would like for his birthday, and he told me he had always wanted to go to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum,” said Wolf. “Two days later, I saw the sign at my library for Step Up to the Plate.” The contest is part of the Campaign for America’s Libraries, ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians.