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AUSTIN, Texas—The Brentwood Elementary School Library, PTA and the Friends of the Brentwood Library received the 2014 Shirley Igo PTA/School Library Collaboration Award from The Texas Library Association and the Texas Association of School Libraries.

The Shirley Igo PTA/School Library Collaboration Award recognizes an outstanding collaboration between a PTA organization and school library media center. This award honors the memory of Shirley Igo of Plainview, Texas, a past president of the Texas and National PTAs, a champion of libraries, education and literacy.

Kate Slaten, Brentwood library media specialist; Karen Wiley, Friends of Brentwood Library chair; and Cindy Stein, Brentwood PTA president were recognized and given a plaque at the Texas PTA's Summer Leadership Seminar earlier this month.

Each spring, Brentwood holds a fundraiser, The Used Book Sale, as an opportunity for teachers, families, staff and neighbors to recirculate titles from their own libraries, while adding affordable new materials to their shelves.

For the event, book donations are solicited from the community. Volunteers set up and organize the books, run the cash register and assist students and teachers with book selections. Anything left over after the sale is donated to local charities. Most of the books are less than $1 and students who are unable to purchase a book are given gift certificates to participate.

The collaboration provides additional funding for the library and fosters the student’s personal collections and the enthusiasm for reading.

Over the last 8 years, under the guidance of PTA Used Book Fair chair Andrea Roberts, more than $14,000 has been raised for the library and volunteer participation has grown.  By working together to support a vibrant, relevant library program, the librarian and the PTA continue to foster a community committed to literacy.

Another AISD elementary school, Doss, won the award in 2012.

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