Americans for Libraries Council announced establishment of the Gulf Coast Libraries Renewal Fund with a lead gift of $100,000 from philanthropist Dorothy Lemelson to carry out the Lemelson-Gulf Coast Libraries Children’s Book Program. The Fund will not only help redevelop the many libraries lost or gravely damaged in Hurricane Katrina, but will also support surviving libraries as front line resources for families and adults displaced by the storm.
The Lemelson-Gulf Coast Libraries Children’s Book Program will be the first initiative under the aegis of the new Fund. It will enable libraries in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi to distribute books directly to children displaced by the storm. “One overlooked story of the Katrina disaster has been the loss of reading materials for children,â€? said Dorothy Lemelson, a philanthropist from Lake Tahoe, Nevada. “This loss has consequences. Books and stories can be instrumental in helping children cope with anxiety, fear and change. My intent is to help librarians meet the immediate needs of these children as well as help renew children’s book collections.”
PNNOnline has more as well.
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