First Lady Creates Library Foundation

First Lady Laura Bush is using her library background to carve out a public policy agenda. A former school librarian, Bush recently announced the creation of the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries, which will provide grants for school and classroom libraries nationwide. The First Lady also hosted a summit in Washington, DC, last month on preschool education, at which leading education researchers discussed the latest brain research and theories about preparing preschoolers for success in school.

The library foundation will be modeled after a family literacy foundation set up by former First Lady Barbara Bush, says Benita Somerfield, who runs the Barbara Bush group and is helping set up the Laura Bush organization. The foundation, which will be administered by the Washington, DC–based Community Foundation, will soon select an advisory committee of library experts to oversee grant-making decisions.

In the wake of the preschool summit, the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services announced a joint task force to review the research on early childhood cognitive development and make practical recommendations for preschool programs.