UA’s Library School Giving Away Books to Black Belt Schools

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In February the School of Library and Information Studies at The University of Alabama will award more than $5,000 in new children’s and teen books to school libraries in the Black Belt region of the state via the SLIS Book Bonanza for the Black Belt program.

School librarians in the Black Belt counties of Alabama are encouraged to apply for free books that will be awarded by Dr. Jamie C. Naidoo, an associate professor in the School of Library and Information Studies.

“To succeed in life, all children need equal opportunities to excel,” Naidoo said. “The Book Bonanza provides children in Black Belt schools with new books that promote reading literacy and provide updated information to scaffold rich learning experiences.”

Interested schools can complete the application at http://slis.ua.edu/2015-book-bonanza-for-the-black-belt/). It may be emailed to jcnaidoo@slis.ua.edu, with “Book Bonanza” in the subject line, or faxed to 205/348-3746.

Applications must be received no later than midnight Feb. 12.

By Feb. 18, approximately five winning school libraries will be selected. Each winning school library will receive more than $1,000 worth of free children’s and/or young adult books. Once notified, winning school librarians will have until March 31 to claim their free books, which will need to be picked up in Tuscaloosa.

Started by Naidoo in 2009, the SLIS Book Bonanza for the Black Belt is an annual program that provides free books to school libraries in the Black Belt region each academic year.