Known to generations of book lovers as the host of Reading Rainbow, LeVar Burton is coming to the Kansas City Public Library. And we’re offering our followers on Twitter and fans on Facebook the opportunity to meet him in person! Find out how you can enter our contest for a chance to visit with the Emmy-winning actor and director simply by sharing your love of reading.

On Friday, February 18, 2011, at 1:30 p.m., LeVar Burton will host a special event for a group of students from Kansas City’s Derrick Thomas Academy on the second floor of the Central Library (14 W. 10th St.).

After reading and discussing local author Shane Evans’ book Underground, he will meet with the five winners of our Tweeting Rainbow: Meet LeVar Burton at the Kansas City Public Library Twitter and Facebook Contest.

The contest will run from 12 p.m. CST on Monday, February 14, through 12 p.m. CST on Thursday, February 17, 2011. Follow these instructions to enter.

Update, Feb. 17, 3 p.m.
Congratulations to Our Winners!

Colette Chapin
John Dobson
Jan Brooks
Ellen Creed
Natasha Sims

Instructions for Twitter users:

1. Follow us on Twitter at @KCPubLibrary

2. Before 12 p.m. on Thursday, February 17, tweet the names of three of your all-time favorite children’s books. Be sure to include "@KCPubLibrary" in each tweet, use the hashtag #tweetingrainbow, and include the link http://bit.ly/LeVarKCPL.

3. To be entered into the contest, please tweet at least three times with a different book in each tweet. (One entry per person.)

Example screenshot:

Instructions for Facebook users

1. Like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/KCLibrary

2. Post a comment to this blog entry via the "Add new comment" link below. Tell us the title and author of your all-time favorite children’s book. Be sure to post your name as it appears on Facebook and include your e-mail address in the form. Blog comments may take a few minutes to appear.

Choosing the Winners

At 12 p.m. on Thursday, February 17, we will take the names of all the contestants and combine them. Five winners will be selected at random. They will be sent confirmation messages and announced on this blog post, Facebook, and Twitter by 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 17.

On Friday, February 18, at 1:30 p.m. the winners will be invited to attend LeVar’s reading for the Derrick Thomas Academy students at the Central Library and then meet with him in-person afterward.

About LeVar Burton

When it comes to spreading the joy of books, no one has a legacy like LeVar. As host of the PBS television show Reading Rainbow for 26 years, Burton taught readers of all ages how to celebrate the joys of reading – not to mention memorize that famous theme song…

Burton is also known for his portrayals of Lieutenant Geordie LaForge on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Kunta Kinte in the 1977 miniseries Roots, for which he won an Emmy for best actor.

After his visit to the Library on Friday, he will speak at a dinner for the Culture House at Johnson County Community College prior to a production of Underground by the Storling Dance Theater in celebration of Black History Month.

In recent years, Burton has leveraged Twitter to connect with fans and promote worthwhile causes such as reading and libraries, garnering more than 1.6 million followers in the process. At the Kansas City Public Library, we too are using social networking sites to reach new people, educate them about Library services, and build enthusiasm for reading in our community.

We hope that whether you’re a new follower of the Library on social networking sites or a returning regular, you’ll stick around to join the great discussion that goes on every day at the Kansas City Public Library.

Happy tweeting, commenting, Facebooking – and reading!