By Alabama Public Radio
Tuscaloosa, AL – Public school libraries will be getting a boost from a outreach program at the University of Alabama. APR's Brett Tannehill reports last year, the "Book Bonanza for the Black Belt" gave away nearly 9-thousand dollars in books ...
Each year the University of Alabama's School of Library and Information Sciences gets hundreds of books to review from publishers ... but once the reviewing is finished, many of those books find a second life at a public school in the Black Belt. It's part of the "Book Bonanza for the Black Belt", which is meant to encourage a love of reading. The effort also helps freshen up reading materials for Black Belt schools, some of which have books that are on average nearly 30 thirty years old. Last year, was the first year for the "Bonanza", which gave away hundreds of books to 6 selected school media centers. The deadline to apply for this year's giveaway is December 13th. Winning schools will receive about a thousand dollars in books for children and young adults. For more information on "Book Bonaza for the Black Belt", call 205-348-1518.