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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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Kate Rhodes - BookSpring
Kate Rhodes is a Commercial Real Estate Broker at Cresa. She previously worked as a tech Software Developer and Product Manager after graduating from Texas A&M University with a B.B.A. in Management Information Systems. She has been a member of the Junior League of Austin since 2013 serving in various leadership roles such as Coats […]
Ginger Weber - BookSpring
Ginger attended the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in Elementary Education with a minor in psychology and an endorsement in special education. After teaching 1st, 3rd, and Special Ed at Pillow Elementary in Austin ISD for 33 years, she decided to retire. At this time, she is a mentor and plans to volunteer, travel, […]
Erin Dempsey - BookSpring
Erin is an activist, community volunteer, commercial real estate attorney, former small business owner and mother of two daughters. She spent the first 18 years of her career practicing law in various large U.S. law firms as a commercial real estate attorney, and in 2017 she co-founded Bess & George, a women’s clothing company located […]
Gail Durrett - BookSpring
Gail grew up as a camper and then counselor at a YMCA camp on the shores of Lake Erie (PA). It is here that she developed a passion for working with children. Coupled with her love of reading and learning, she also played school in her basement. Later in her professional life she would return […]
David Rice - BookSpring
David has always lived in Texas. Born in 1964 in Weslaco, he now divides his time between Austin and the Rio Grande Valley, where he teaches and mentors high school students in creative writing. South Texas and his Mexican American culture are the inspiration for his work. He is the award-winning author of Give the […]
Marvin Davis - BookSpring
Marvin is an accomplished Retail Manager with a rich history in the retail sector, including successful stints at Golfsmith and his current role at WorkQuest. With a strong focus on customer service, visual merchandising, and sales management, he is a results-driven professional who consistently exceeds expectations. Marvin’s diverse skill set, encompassing store operations, inventory management, […]
Casey Gibbs - BookSpring
Casey Gibbs is the Director of the Library at St. Edward’s University and a family man, musician, gardener, amateur radio operator, and game master. A native Austinite and UT alumnus, Casey has also lived in Chicago, where he earned his Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois and worked in education […]
Matt Rester - BookSpring
I am honored to serve on the BookSpring board. I am so impressed with the organization, and the quality of the board was so apparent during the recent acquisition process! I am originally from Kansas City, graduated from the University of Kansas and went to work for Hallmark Cards in varying roles of responsibility for 15 […]
Susan Patterson - BookSpring
Susan graduated from Dartmouth College and worked in the investment banking and high-tech industries for 25 years before becoming a licensed real estate agent in 2007. She embraces the Austin lifestyle, lives downtown, and loves sampling all the city has to offer. Susan loves to catch local theater productions at the Austin Playhouse, exercise on […]