Alibris Presents Libraries with a $3,000 Collection Award

Alibris, the Internet's premier independent marketplace for sellers of new and used books, music, and movies, has named the Wapello School District in Wapello, Iowa, and the Mark Twain School and Academy in Detroit, Michigan, as co-winners of the 2009 Alibris Collection Award.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Alibris for Libraries has provided a $3,000 book grant to help supply underfunded libraries with much-needed materials. Libraries turn to Alibris to expand their collections every year, and Alibris for Libraries has now contributed $18,000 worth of valuable library materials since the award's inception.

The award was announced on Monday, January 26, 2009, during the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in Denver, Colorado.

In the summer of 2008, a flood of historic proportions hit the southeast Iowa community of Louisa County, leaving the entire town of Oakville and the rural area of Wapello devastated. Due to the lack of available housing within the Wapello School District, which services both of these communities, many families were forced to relocate. The situation caused a decline in school enrollment and a cut in state funding totaling more than $250,000 for the 2008-2009 school year alone.

"Webster's dictionary defines a flood as 'an outpouring of considerable extent or a great stream of something that flows in a steady course.' And in order to restore morale and bring encouragement and hope back to the student body and staff, we would like to 'flood' our library with a collection of new, historical-fiction books," said Lori Doolin, Media Specialist, Wapello Jr./Sr. High School. "The social studies teachers, 7th-12th grade, all require their students to read historical fiction books, and many of the upperclassmen have already read the majority of historical fiction books in the School Library, so we would like to give the students additional books to choose from. Happily, Alibris has hundreds of appropriate titles from which to choose."

Meanwhile, at the Mark Twain School and Academy in Detroit, "many of our students have never been beyond the boundaries of their immediate neighborhood, and we're trying to prepare them for an increasingly global economy with an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program," said Madeleine Karcz, IB Coordinator at the school. "In order to teach and assess the IB Learner Profile--a guideline for the type of learner we hope to send on to higher education--we must build a library of story books. It is our belief that the Alibris Collection Award will allow our students to read more and become kinder, more caring, and more respectful individuals, capable of making the world a better place. We truly appreciate the generous support from Alibris."

The two recipients were chosen from more than 100 qualified applicants, who each created online Alibris wishlists of desired books. The award jury included Toni Garvey, Director, Phoenix Public Library; Dr. Mark Sandler, Director, Center for Library Initiatives at the Committee on Institutional Cooperation; Dr. Lynn Sutton, Library Director, Wake Forest University; Jack Walsdorf, retired bookseller and book scholar; Dr. Richard Weatherford, Co-Founder of Alibris; and the members of the Alibris for Libraries Advisory Board.

Alibris looks forward to helping all libraries promote their Alibris wishlists to patrons, donors, alumni, and other constituents who may well be in the position to invest in their community by supplying much-needed books to libraries who generously share them with readers.

Complete details of the award may be found at the Alibris for Libraries Web site.