raising readers Partners with the Maine Family Literacy Initiative and Public Libraries to Support the Literacy of Maine Families

Former First Lady Barbara Bush and First Lady Karen Baldacci Support Literacy Collaboration in Maine

(Biddeford, ME) -Reading is one of the best ways parents can help their children develop a love of books and reading and prepare them to learn to read. However, access to books and the parent's own literacy level can be barriers to making that happen. A new partnership between raising readers, the Maine Family Literacy Initiative, and select public libraries is designed to help overcome those barriers.

Now in its tenth year, raising readers has distributed more than 1.3 million books to more than 166,000 Maine children. The books are distributed at birth and at subsequent well-child visits with healthcare providers when physicians and nurses give out the books and discuss with families the importance of reading.

Combining the raising readers books with access to family literacy services offered by Maine Family Literacy Initiative (MEFLI) grantees is the concept behind the new partnership. MEFLI programs across the state work with families to address the learning and literacy needs of both adults and children. Integrating the books that families receive from raising readers into family literacy services deepens their impact and helps families get the most out of them.

Eight public libraries will provide access to the books by family literacy programs and others. The Maine State Library facilitated a process to identify one library in each of eight counties to house the raising readers book collections and collaborate with MEFLI on family literacy services. The participating libraries are: Belfast Free Library, Camden Public Library, Cherryfield Public Library, Paris Public Library, Skowhegan Public Library, Strong Public Library, Waldoboro Public Library and the Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft . A complementary collaboration with the state's Resource Development Centers provides access to raising readers books in the remaining eight counties.

Note: The new collaboration will be announced after the Maine Family Literacy Initiative Grant Awards Ceremony at 11 am on June 10 at the J. Richard Martin Community Center in Biddeford.

raising readers is an ambitious effort conceived by the Libra Foundation to foster a love of reading, improve literacy among babies and young children, and ultimately, improve the health and educational outcomes of Maine children. MaineHealth, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS) and the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center and Eastern Maine Medical Center collaborate to make the program possible. For more information about the program visit, www.raisingreaders.org.

The Maine Family Literacy Initiative is a program of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy designed to support the development and/or improvement of family literacy throughout the state of Maine. For more information, visit www.mainefamilyliteracy.com.