INWOOD, WV— January 6, 2004 – Library representatives who want to help PLA's Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library should visit The Library Corporation's (TLC's) booth at the ALA Midwinter Meeting.

This year, TLC celebrates 30 years as a family-owned and operated company exclusively devoted to serving libraries. As part of the celebration, TLC has created a year-long program, starting in San Diego. There, the company will donate funds to Every Child for each library representative who visits the TLC booth (#426) or attends a presentation.

Library representatives can have their exhibit cards scanned in the booth for a five-dollar donation on their library's behalf, or attend a presentation in the booth for a $25 donation. TLC's goal is to present $5,000 to Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library at the conclusion of the ALA Midwinter Meeting.

Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library helps parents and caregivers prepare pre-school children for a lifetime of the pleasures of reading. The Public Library Association (PLA) developed the program with the help of Dr. Grover C. Whitehurst and Dr. Christopher Lonigan, who have developed a model public library program for parents and caregivers using the researched-based findings of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NCHID), a division of the National Institutes of Health. The premise of these researched-based materials is to enlist parents and caregivers as partners in preparing their children for learning to read and to provide the most effective methods to achieve this end.

To broaden the dissemination of these materials and to test their effectiveness, PLA and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) formed a partnership, the PLA/ALSC Task Force on Early Childhood Literacy, to pilot the materials in public libraries. Demonstration sites have enthusiastically participated in the project and developed a wide range of materials for their communities. The intent of these partnerships and programs is to firmly establish public libraries as a partner in the educational continuum and to validate PLA's contributions by linking its activities to relevant research and evaluation.

Luis Herrera, PLA President, commented: “PLA is pleased to partner with TLC on this important early childhood literacy campaign. We believe that public libraries can play a vital role in building a nation of readers and we welcome TLC's support in helping raise awareness about the value that libraries bring to children, families, and caregivers.”

TLC CEO and President Annette Harwood Murphy commented: “What a wonderful opportunity for TLC to sponsor such a worthy cause. Preparing children to read is so important today. Children are our future library patrons and we need to help give them the tools they need to succeed in school and someday, the workplace. We are proud to assist Every Child Ready to Read @Your Library.”

TLC will next hold its donor program at the Public Library Association Conference (Seattle, WA) and the ALA Annual Conference (Orlando) this year.

About The Library Corporation

TLC is owned and operated by the same family that founded the company 30 years ago. The company's automation solutions include integrated automation systems built using the world's most advanced technologies, cataloging with access to millions of MARC records, acquisitions that incorporate all the necessary resources into one place, and a premier service and support team that sets the standard in the library profession.