Jesse White Awards Nearly $1.4 Million to Public School Libraries

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White has awarded Fiscal Year 2012 School District Library Program Grants totaling nearly $1.4 million to 648 Illinois public school districts. More than 1.7 million students served by school library media programs will benefit from the grants.

"As a former public school teacher and administrator, I know our school libraries are very important in helping students learn and prepare themselves for the future," White said. "Illinois was the first state to implement a school district grant program, and I'm pleased that we can continue to provide school libraries with some of the financial resources they need to produce well-educated students."

The School District Library Grant Program provides funds that can be used for things like the acquisition of library materials to support reading for academics and enjoyment, library subscriptions to electronic resources, or improved technology to support student research.

The recipients in our area include: Chester Chester CUSD #139 $739.75

Red Bud Red Bud CUD #132 1025 $798.

Steeleville Steeleville CUSD #138 416 $324.27

Sparta Sparta UD #140 1063 $828.61