HomeALA President announces Register to vote @ your library

Contact: Deborah Davis
Campaign Manager
312/280-2148
dedavis@ala.org

For Immediate Release
April 22, 2004

ALA President announces Register to Vote @ your library® program;
230 libraries already on board

To help celebrate National Library Week, ALA President Carla Hayden today officially kicked-off the "Register to Vote @ your library®" initiative at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. She was joined by Becky Bond, Creative Producer for Working Assets, ALA’s partner in this nationwide voter registration drive. To date, more than 200 libraries already have signed up for the program.

Through Register to Vote @ your library®, ALA and Working Assets are co-sponsoring a voter registration page, www.yourvotematters.org/ala, where individuals can register to vote or update their registration information. The Your Vote Matters site was created and customized by Working Assets for participating non-partisan, non-profit organizations. When citizens register to vote through this Web site, they help raise funds for library advocacy thanks to a generous grant from Working Assets. Voters in all states except New Hampshire, North Dakota and Wyoming are eligible to complete registration via this Web site.

"National Library Week is the perfect time to remind the public about the valuable resources libraries provide to help citizens engage in civic activity," said Hayden. "I hope that libraries nationwide will participate in this important voter registration initiative and showcase the wealth of programs, services and information that can help people make informed decisions this election season."

ALA is encouraging its members to promote voter registration through the www.yourvotematters.org/ala Web site in their local libraries. The participating library in the zip code with the largest number of registrants will be awarded a $1000 grant. In addition, the first five participating libraries in zip codes with at least 500 registrants will each be awarded $500. Libraries are invited to register for free materials to participate in this program at www.ala.org/requestmaterials.

"When it comes to defending our democracy, librarians have always been on the front lines," said Working Assets President Michael Kieschnick. "We’re proud to be their partner in this crucial campaign to register new voters in library branches nationwide."

For more information about this initiative, visit the Register to Vote @ your library Web page. Contact Your Vote Matters at 877-205-VOTE(8683) with any technical or voter registration questions. For more information about Working Assets, visit www.workingassets.com.