Rural Florida library receives library materials from YALSA's Great Book Giveaway IX

Contact: Nichole Gilbert

312-280-4387

ngilbert@ala.org

For Immediate Release

January 21, 2005

Rural Florida library receives library materials from YALSA's Great Book Giveaway IX

CHICAGO - The Hardee Senior High School Library in Wauchula, Fla. is the winner of the ninth annual Great Book Giveaway and will receive literally a "ton" of young adult and adult books, videos, CDs and audiocassettes.
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) sponsors the contest that consists of items publishers and producers donated to YALSA in 2004. The estimated value of the collection is approximately $25,000.

The past year has been devastating for Hardee County, Fla. with direct hits by two hurricanes and gale force winds from a third.
Three-fourths of the homes in Hardee County were either damaged or destroyed, several schools in the district sustained extensive damage and students missed a total of 17 days of school.
Along with personal property, many textbooks and library books were lost, damaged, or destroyed.

When told the news about winning the books, Diane Bryan, librarian, said, "That is awesome!
These books will be a big help to our students!"

Hardee Senior High School is the only high school that serves the district and approximately 74% of the district's school population is on free and reduced lunch.
According to the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 results of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), 75% of the freshmen and sophomore students at Hardee Senior High School are reading below grade level.

In the winning application Bryan stated, "We want our students to become life long readers.
If we were able to improve our book collection with new YA books that students can connect and relate to, their reading success would carry into the classroom and our community."

"YALSA is pleased to be able to put over $25,000 worth of books into the hands of young adults, especially those who endured hardships due to the destruction of the 2004 hurricane season," said YALSA President David Mowery.

The application form and information for next year's Great Book Giveaway are available on the YALSA Web site,
http://www.ala.org/yalsa. Applications and supporting materials must be received in the YALSA office by December 1, 2005.
For more information contact the YALSA office, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail:
YALSA@ala.org
.

YALSA is a division of the American Library Association (ALA).