The Big Vote

The Irving Public Library is applying to participate in the NEA Big Read in 2026 and the librarians have narrowed down the book choices to three titles:

1. "1776" by David McCollough
2. "In The Heart of the Sea" by Nathaniel Philbrick
3. "The Things They Carried" by Tim O’Brien

The community is invited to vote for the final selection through Nov. 30 by visiting the Big Vote website. Paper ballots will also be available at Irving Library locations.

This year’s NEA Big Read titles celebrate and honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, marking America’s Semiquincentennial. These books celebrate the country’s culture, history and resilience through the eyes of its citizens. Not everyone may be familiar with the books and that's ok! On the voting website, the public can see not only the nominated titles but programming that selecting each one would bring to Irving. It is perfectly fine to choose a title based on the program ideas.

Funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read is a shared reading experience for Irving's adult community, which features free books and fun programs.