That is about to change for thousands of American Indian families. Much needed books are making their way to American Indian parents and children in family literacy programs across the nation thanks to Better World Books and the National Center for Family Literacy.

The effort will support the literacy development of families participating in the Family and Child Education (FACE) program funded by the Bureau of Indian Education and in operation in states including Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico and Mississippi. The FACE program is coordinated by NCFL and is the nation’s longest running family literacy program.

Many of the sites are located in remote desert or plains areas where there are no main libraries and schools have limited resources, according to NCFL. More than 25,000 books will be given to families with children birth to eight-years-old.

“We’re going to be providing books to a lot of families that just don’t have books in the home,” said NCFL’s Sharyl Emberton who coordinates NCFL’s services to the FACE program. “Families who attend programs in these schools will be able to select a variety of books. They will be able to build their own home libraries.”

The high-quality books are the result of partnerships with over 500 local libraries who give their discarded and donated books to Better World Books to benefit their literacy partners.

Better World Books initiated its partnership with NCFL immediately following the 2005 Hurricane Season to provide a long-term solution to the social and economic devastation and has contributed more than $80,000 of cash funding to support the organization’s literacy initiatives.

In addition to the FACE program, NCFL works with literacy programs throughout the U.S., helping families in need gain necessary literacy skills. Each year, NCFL programs help more than 60,000 individuals by supporting programs including the Hispanic Learning Institute, the Bureau of Indian Education’s Family and Child Education program, and—most recently—providing relief to families displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

–9/27/06