A New Five-Year Study Reinforces Book Bank Work A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences offers strong evidence for something BookSpring has long believed: access to print books matters, especially when children receive books over time and can build their own home libraries. In “Cumulative ...

This March, BookSpring brought on a new leadership team member to our small but powerful team. Joy Diaz, Associate Director, comes with a wealth of experience in education, media, and storytelling. Her passion for books and amplifying early literacy is undeniable, and we at BookSpring cannot be more excited for ...

A New Program Elevates Creativity We recently celebrated an exciting milestone: the print launch of our first six BookSpring Originals titles. This moment marked the culmination of months of thoughtful collaboration and commitment to families and children across Texas. BookSpring Originals is an ambitious new publishing initiative rooted in our ...

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, ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Since its launch in April 2022, Books Beginning at Birth (B3) has been making a profound impact on early literacy by providing free books, digital resources, and family reading support to thousands of families across Texas. By empowering parents and caregivers with the tools to build strong reading habits from ...

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 ...

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 ...

In a remarkable follow-up to our previous story, Anushka Godambe, a former student at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, has continued her incredible journey of giving. Since our last update, Anushka has expanded her efforts, and with her unwavering dedication, she has now collected and donated over 40,000 books ...

A True Family Friendly Celebration BookSpring Fest 2024 held on Saturday, May 4th was a resounding success, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of our community, volunteers, and sponsors. This year’s fest marked a significant milestone in our efforts to promote childhood literacy, bringing together over 1,000 ...

In our digitally saturated world, children encounter screens at an unprecedented rate, engaging with videos, ads, and games during unsupervised "screen time." Meanwhile, a different digital realm exists: that of "digital books," where parents actively participate in reading text and image-based materials with their children. How do these two realms ...

What is your job title at BookSpring and what does it mean to you? My role as an Administrative Assistant is to act as support for the Development and Finance departments as well as our Board of Directors. The nature of my role is to be flexible with the growing ...

Two young souls are making a big difference in the world of literacy. Anushka Godambe, a senior at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, has spearheaded book drives for BookSpring, donating an incredible 25,000+ books over four years. Meanwhile, Caroline Masterson recently completed her own book drive for her Eaglescout ...

What is your job title at BookSpring and what does it mean to you? I am the Logistics Manager which means I help the organization run efficiently through oversight of processing systems. I help conduct our annual inventory, lead volunteering shifts, distribute books to community partners, and work with distributors ...

Aug 1, 2023 - In the past year, the Books Beginning at Birth program, offered in collaboration with BookSpring and the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TXAEYC), has made significant strides in promoting literacy and early childhood development across various communities. Through its initiatives, the program has ...

BookSpring staff recommends BookSmart, as a groundbreaking solution to tackle the global learning crisis. With the alarming statistic that 64% of 10-year-olds worldwide struggle to read and comprehend a simple story, BookSmart aims to bridge this gap by providing children with the necessary tools to cultivate a lifelong reading habit ...

In the vibrant Central Texas business community, there exists a shared belief that doing good is not only virtuous but also essential for sustainable growth and prosperity. RecognizeGood's prestigious Ethics in Business Award program embodies this philosophy, aiming to illuminate and honor businesses, individuals, and nonprofits that prioritize ethical practices ...

Book Drives Give Back At St. Andrew's Episcopal School, students recently learned about the importance of giving back through a BookSpring Book Drive. The drive was a huge success, with students donating over 2,000 books to the cause. But the drive was about more than just collecting books - it ...

The Power of Diverse Books In recent times, discussions about the importance of diverse books have gained significant attention. Amidst the controversies surrounding the teaching of critical race theory in schools, it is vital to understand the value that diverse books bring to children's education. While headlines may focus on ...

By: Jeannine Herron, et al. In this overview, learn how early literacy benefits from both print-to-speech and speech-to-print instruction, creating connections in the brain that link new knowledge about the alphabet to what children already know and are continuously learning about words. Introduction Recently there have been many discussions among ...

What is your job at BookSpring? I’m the Accounting Manager, so I handle the financial books and assist with fundraising and donor relations and data. What do you like about your job at BookSpring? When I first applied at BookSpring, I was fresh out of college and trying to figure ...

By: María José Meneses, Originally published in Porch.com Parents and other family members can enhance the benefits kids can obtain by complementing reading with a few related activities. While you might think that school teachers have plenty of time for these types of activities, the truth is that there often isn’t ...

What is your job at BookSpring? I’m BookSpring’s Operations Manager. That means I have a uniquely diversified role. I manage all of our operations from onboarding new staff, to coordinating our university work studies and AmeriCorps programs, to the maintenance and care of our brand-new facility! What do you like ...

BookSpring is proud that our roots come from Reading Is Fundamental, the national program headquartered in Washington DC.  In addition to being a continuing funder to BookSpring through the Books for Ownership programs, they watch news and trends, such as The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which showed recently ...

Books Beginning at Birth Program for Texas Families Early childhood programs have long-lasting impacts on children, families, and broader communities. The Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TXAEYC) and BookSpring launched the Books Beginning at Birth program to ensure more families are empowered and motivated to read together ...

Embracing the Digital Age In this rapidly evolving digital age, it is only natural that technology has become an integral part of our lives, including the way we engage with books and stories. As parents, it is important to strike a balance between traditional and digital forms of reading, ensuring ...