Since 1995, poetry has thrived in New York City’s public library branches because of the Poets House initiative, Poetry in The Branches. Collections are fresh and current, librarians are well-versed in poetry programming, and in some locations poetry circulation has tripled because of this program. Conceived and developed as a replicable program model, PITB has now entered a phase of national expansion. Poets House brings the PITB model to librarians all over the country via intensive trainings. The centerpiece of this training is our Poetry in The Branches National Institute, a comprehensive weekend-long immersion in the model.

The 2003 Institute will cover a wide range of nuts-and-blots information about programming with poetry in diverse library settings, collection development, display and publicity, and will provide experience listening to, discussing and writing poetry.