Karen Arneson, Partner Manager for BookSpring was our speaker On April 30th. As one of our service projects, we are donating books to BookSpring in the name of each of our speakers, and we presented Karen with an assortment of books that have been collected over the last year or so. BookSpring is a nonprofit headquartered in Austin on Slaughter Lane and has been providing books to children for 50 years. Karen told us how BookSpring began and then explained how they go into day cares and schools to spread the importance of literacy. One of their goals to help grow libraries in homes by trying to get 20 books in the home by age 5. By explaining the importance of literacy, they are encouraging parents to read with children and open up the world of books. BookSpring serves 231 counties in Texas out of a total of 254. They try to target areas that are book “deserts,” such as the border, panhandle and west Texas. Even in Austin, there are places where it can be difficult to get to the neighborhood library. Karen described BookSpring’s programs:
- Books beginning at birth has provided 300,000 books to over 100,000 students since 2022 and has a mobile app and a newsletter along with digital books and activities
- Early books for me is a program in daycares where they read aloud in English and Spanish and provide an activity and/or song
- Books for me is for 1st to 5th grade
- ReadWell RX - books are given to clinics to give to patients
- Open Book - helps get used books to organizations that would like to have them
- BookSpring originals - creating brand new books; they take submissions and review for appropriate content
BookSpring get donations of books from various sources and have volunteers sort them and shelve them accordingly. For more information about BookSpring go to: bookspring.org.