UA School of Library and Information Studies Awards Books to Black Belt Schools

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies will award more than $7,000 in free books this month to elementary-, middle- and high-school libraries in the Black Belt region of Alabama via the SLIS Book Bonanza for the Black Belt Program.

Of 20 applicants from the Black Belt region, six schools were chosen to receive more than $1,000 each in new books for children or teens. Schools were chosen based on criteria such as current age of the school library collection (average publication date) and the number of books available per student.

The winning schools for the 2011 SLIS Book Bonanza for the Black Belt Program are:

J.E. Terry Elementary & Shiloh Elementary and 6th Grade Academy (Plantersville – Dallas County)

Mount Olive Primary School & Mount Olive Intermediate School (Fort Mitchell – Russell County)

Carver Middle School (Eutaw – Greene County)

Francis Marion High School (Marion – Perry County)

Sunshine School (Newbern – Hale County)

Southside High School (Selma – Dallas County)

“This program is just one of the many ways in which the School of Library and Information Studies gives back to our local community, region and state,” said Dr. Jamie C. Naidoo, Foster-EBSCO Endowed Professor for SLIS and organizer of the Book Bonanza program.

Established in 2009, the SLIS Book Bonanza for the Black Belt is an annual program that provides free books to school library media centers in the Black Belt region. The School of Library and Information Studies is part of the UA College of Communication and Information Sciences.