News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Life
Culture & Art
Hobbies
News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Culture & Art
Hobbies
Your Child's Brain on Books - BookSpring
Supporting Early Brain Development with Reading The State and Power of Literacy Your child’s brain is growing faster in the first few years of life than it ever will again, and reading is one of the most powerful tools you have to shape that growth. In an ever-increasing screen-filled world, it’s far too easy to[…]
Ann Gass - BookSpring
Ms. Gass joined the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) in 2000 and has served as the Director of Strategic Housing Initiatives since 2014. In her current role she directs the redevelopment activities for HACA’s RAD PBRA portfolio. From 2014 to 2021, Ms. Gass oversaw HACA’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) full portfolio conversion[…]
Ryann Collier - BookSpring
Ryann Collier is the Vice President of Brands at Arrow, a strategic public relations & branding agency in Austin. Throughout her career, she’s had the opportunity to develop and lead communications campaigns for several organizations. Currently, Ryann is a board member of the Dallas-based Pop-Up Books Foundation, and her past board service includes the LBJ[…]
Sandra Avila Ramirez - BookSpring
Judge Sandra Avila Ramirez serves as the presiding judge of the 98th District Court, which sits as the juvenile court in Travis County. A native of the Rio Grande Valley, she was the first in her family to graduate high school, later earning her B.A. from St. Edward’s University and her J.D. from Texas Tech[…]
Building Daily Reading Habits to Support Early Readers - BookSpring
As the school year begins and teachers prepare to welcome eager young learners, there is one classroom that children spend time in every single day: the home. And the most important teacher there is you, the parent or caregiver. From their very first days, you are their nurturing guide to a budding world of knowledge,[…]
Janis Daemmrich - BookSpring
Janis Daemmrich is vice president of client relations at Bob Daemmrich Photography, where she has worked with her editorial and commercial photographer husband for 28 years. She earned a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and was a sportswriter and editor at several daily newspapers, including the Austin American-Statesman in the early[…]
Introducing BookSpring’s Strategic Plan: 2025–2030 - BookSpring
Pathways to the Love of Reading BookSpring is proud to unveil our new five-year Strategic Plan: Pathways to the Love of Reading, a bold roadmap to deepen and expand our work across Texas from 2025 to 2030. This plan reflects months of thoughtful collaboration between our Board, staff, and community partners, all guided by a simple[…]
Empowering Classrooms through BookSpring's Big Book Giveaway! - BookSpring
This April, BookSpring launched its first-ever Big Book Giveaway, an educator-focused initiative that brought nearly 20,000 books directly into the hands of teachers across the Greater Austin area. Designed to empower schools with limited resources and reignite classroom libraries, the event quickly became a standout success for the spring. While our Books for Me program […]
BookSpring Fest 2025: A Celebration of Stories - BookSpring
On Saturday, May 3, 2025, over 1,270 attendees gathered under the Texas sun for BookSpring Fest: A Read-Aloud Celebration, a day filled with storytelling, games, laughter, and, most importantly, a shared love for books. This year’s festival was nothing short of phenomenal, featuring 29 guest readers, over 1,300 free books distributed, and raising more than $57,000 to help close the literacy gap for […]
BookSpring Dedicates Headquarters as "The Patterson Family Book Bank" - BookSpring
BookSpring is proud to announce the official dedication of our headquarters as The Patterson Family Book Bank—a name that now stands as a lasting tribute to a family deeply devoted to literacy, community, and compassion. The dedication ceremony, held on March 26, 2025, celebrated the extraordinary generosity of the Living Water Foundation, with heartfelt recognition […]
Emily Day, Administrative Assistant - BookSpring
Emily is the Administration Assistant at BookSpring. After studying environmental sustainability in college, she worked for a handful of nonprofits as a volunteer coordinator before working as a wedding florist for a few years. Reading was one of her main hobbies growing up, and she’s excited to once again work for a nonprofit that is […]
Julio Moreno, Programs Assistant - BookSpring
As a Program Assistant at BookSpring, Julio helps the team with the early literacy programs both in the office and off-site events. Julio grew up in Brownsville, Texas before moving to Austin to study Design at the University of Texas. Growing up enveloped in comics and picture books, Julio dedicates his personal time to publish […]
Kellie Sauls - BookSpring
Kellie Sauls serves as the Director of Outreach, Culture, and Engagement for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas where she is responsible for the direction and oversight of organizational culture strategy, planning, program development and management as it relates to the employee experience. Prior to TRS, Kellie spent over 20 years in higher education primarily […]
Sarah Ruttan, Chair/BookSpring Board Member - BookSpring
Sarah Ruttan has worked in the field of education since 2002, serving as a bilingual & ESL teacher in grades 2-6 and a bilingual librarian. She currently works in Austin ISD serving a dual language campus, where she delights in sharing stories with her students and helping them find books that get them excited about […]
Looking Forward to 2025 - BookSpring
Hear from Emily Ball Cicchini, PhD, as she reflects on ten transformative years of literacy impact at BookSpring, From distributing books to creating engaging digital tools, see how our programs, partnerships, and the incredible contributions of our Board of Directors and staff are shaping the future of family literacy across Texas.
Sarah Ruttan, Chair/BookSpring Board Member - BookSpring
Sarah Ruttan has worked in the field of education since 2002, serving as a bilingual & ESL teacher in grades 2-6 and a bilingual librarian. She currently works in Austin ISD serving a dual language campus, where she delights in sharing stories with her students and helping them find books that get them excited about […]
Celebrate BookSpring Day: A Call to Share Your Memories - BookSpring
November 19th, 2024, the City of Austin will officially recognize BookSpring Day, a celebration of 50 years of literacy and community impact by BookSpring. Since our founding in 1974 as Friends of Reading is Fundamental of Austin, we’ve helped countless Central Texas families unlock a lifetime of learning by providing free books and resources. To […]
Unlocking the Insights: 2024 Texas Reading Survey Highlights - BookSpring
In August and September 2024, BookSpring conducted its annual Texas Reading Survey to understand family reading habits, book ownership, and school engagement. With 752 responses from parents of children 12 and under, this year’s findings shed light on significant trends, challenges, and opportunities for promoting book access and literacy across Texas. This year, we are […]
Celebrate BookSpring Day: A Call to Share Your Memories - BookSpring
This November 19th, 2024, the City of Austin will officially recognize BookSpring Day, a celebration of 50 years of literacy and community impact by BookSpring. Since our founding in 1974 as Friends of Reading is Fundamental of Austin, we’ve helped countless Central Texas families unlock a lifetime of learning by providing free books and resources. […]
About Books Beginning at Birth - BookSpring
I love the books from Books Beginning at Birth because my child is now reading words that he was not reading before. He’s showing more growth in his reading. He is looking at the pictures and, sounding out words, and it is making me a proud parent. Thank you. About Books Beginning at Birth
Books Beginning at Birth: Celebrating Our Progress So Far - BookSpring
Books Beginning at Birth (B3), our collaborative program with the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children, continues to make a significant impact in the lives of families and children across Texas. Our goal has always been to foster early literacy and create lasting family bonds through reading, and the results of our program […]