YALSA and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation award grants to 20 libraries

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is pleased to announce the winners of its Summer Reading Program Grants, which are funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. Twenty libraries are receiving $1,000 to help fund summer reading programs for teens.

“YALSA is pleased to work with the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to support summer reading programs for teens,” said Sarah Flowers, YALSA president. “Our members have lots of wonderful, creative ideas, and it is a pleasure to be able to help them implement them.”

The recipients of the Summer Reading Program Grant are:

• Michael Cherry, Evansville Vanderburgh (Ind.) Public Library
• Kim Covington, Denton (N.C.) Public Library
• Nancee Dahms-Stinson, Springfield-Greene County Library District, Springfield, Mo.
• Jenifer Gliebe, Cardington-Lincoln Public Library, Cardington, Ohio
• Juaniata Kamalipour, El Paso (Texas) Public Library
• Saundra Keiffer, Rolling Hills Consolidated Library, St. Joseph, Mo.
• Krista King, Boone County Public Library, Burlington, Ky.
• Stacy Leinenmann, Watonwan County Library, James, Minn.
• Joan Light, Montrose (Colo.) Regional Public Library
• Steven Nichols, Lenawee County Library, Adrian, Mich.
• Rosalee Pituch and Patty Zion, Rebecca M. Arthurs Memorial Library, Brookville, Pa.
• Emily Shade, Huntsville-Madison County (Ala.) Public Library
• Erica Solomon, Piscataway (N.J.) Public Library
• Sandra Solomon, St. Martin Parish Library, St. Martinville, La.
• Angela Spitzer, Satilla Regional Library, Douglas, Ga.
• Erin Steinsultz, Benton (Ill.) Public Library
• Jessica Sullenberger, Henderson (Nev.) Public Library
• Daniel Tackett, North Shelby Library, Birmingham, Ala.
• Staci Terrell, Anderson (Ind.) Public Library
• Lindsey Tomsu, LaVista (Neb.) Public Library

“The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support YALSA’s efforts to assist librarians with their teen reading programs,” said Denine Torr, Dollar General’s director of community initiatives. “Summertime is a great time for teens to discover the joy of reading for pleasure while also continuing to learn.”

About Dollar General

Dollar General is a leading discount retailer with more than 9,900 neighborhood stores in 39 states. Dollar General stores provide convenience and value to customers by offering consumable basic items such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids and cleaning supplies, as well as basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at everyday low prices. The company has a longstanding tradition of supporting literacy and education. Since 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $64.5 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 3.7 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy, a general education diploma or English proficiency. To learn more about Dollar General, visit www.dollargeneral.com.

About YALSA

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audiobooks for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists, or contact the YALSA office by phone, (800) 545-2433, ext. 4390, or e-mail, yalsa@ala.org.