This spring, three Missouri literacy programs—First Book—St. Louis, Ready Readers and OASIS Intergenerational Tutoring Program—learned the value of "the book" firsthand, when they each received a check for $5,000 from St. Louis, Mo.-based wholesaler the Booksource. The 25-year-old wholesaler raised the $15,000 donation for literacy by publishing an original children's book, A Midwinter Knight's Dreams: A St. Louis Tail, last fall, with 24 stories by local children's book authors and media celebrities. Local St. Louis stores did their part, too, by agreeing to buy the book at a very low discount, 20%. "You have helped our project to bring joy and the ability to read to thousands of children," wrote OASIS tutoring coordinator Carol Ottsen in just one of the many thank-you notes the Booksource received.
In other news, Sandy Jaffe, president of the Booksource, has been elected president of the American Wholesale Booksellers Association. Nancy Stetzinger, acquisitions manager of Follett Library Resources, will be serving with him as vice-president.
