Alexander Elementary in Abbotsford is the recipient of a $42,000 grant from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation.
The school is one of 20 across Canada and three in B.C. to receive a total of $1.5 million in grants from the Love of Reading Literacy Fund.
The grants enable recipient schools to purchase books and education resources “in an effort to bolster literacy and transform school libraries,” said Heather Reisman, president of the foundation.
Alexander Elementary currently has 153 students with a library budget of $2,900, allowing for 1.5 books per student, according to school principal Donna Wright.
She said the average age of the school’s books is 25 years.
“It has been our mission to have every book that a child may choose from the library be of high quality and high interest to encourage a true love of reading,” she said.
The grant will enable the school to transform its library over the next three years.
The literacy fund was established in 2004 to address the underfunding of public elementary school libraries.
To date, more than $15 million has been committed to 170 schools nationally.
