LEWISTON – The fall LA Reads series will wrap up Wednesday evening with a community gathering to discuss the book, “The World is Flat,” and its impact on Lewiston-Auburn.

This free public event will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Lewiston Public Library’s Marsden Hartley Cultural Center.

The moderator will be Zark VanZandt, dean of Lewiston-Auburn College and a member of the Steering Committee for College for ME – Androscoggin. LA Reads is a project of the Lewiston and Auburn public libraries and College for ME – Androscoggin.

“The World is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman is a book about the changes taking place in the global economy due to advances that have been made in communications over the past several years.

With the coming of age of the Internet, countries, companies and individuals are able to collaborate and compete in the global marketplace in ways that were not even imagined 10 years ago. In the book, Friedman uses interviews and anecdotes to make sense of the revolutionary changes.

The discussion format will include small group discussions on the issues and themes addressed by Friedman in the book with a focus on how the global economic and communication changes are impacting life and work in Lewiston-Auburn.

The goal is to come up with some strategies and action steps that can be taken locally to better position L-A for meeting the challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities over the next several years. Light refreshments will be served.

Copies of the book are available at local libraries and bookstores. For more information, contact the Auburn Public Library at 333-6640 or the Lewiston Public Library at 784-0135.