Emily’s Corner

by Dr. Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director As we kick off this new year, our 49th of continuous operation, the challenge of communication across the many members of BookSpring remains.  BookSpring is both grassroots and established, local and digital, and volunteer and professional.  How do we manage all the different ...

It's official!  BookSpring has moved our headquarters to a new location in South Austin, 1807 W. Slaughter Lane, Building #1.  Come visit us M-F, between 10-4, or sign up to volunteer in our new space or at our warehouse on Rutland Drive. NOTE:  Our new mailing address is BookSpring, PO ...

February 25th marks my employment anniversary as Executive Director of BookSpring, which started in 2015. As my motto is “Follow compassion, lead with reflection, and serve with commitment,” I’d like to take this time to share some of the triumphs and learning moments observed during this relatively brief time of ...

by Dr. Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director Change. It’s the one thing we can’t prevent from happening. So, I report during the continuing pandemic. In my work at BookSpring, I use a little tool that I developed during my graduate program to try to categorize my observations of how the ...

By Emily Ball Cicchini, Ph.D., Executive Director Let’s talk about Dr. Seuss! You may have heard that some of his books are being discontinued by their publishers. Some people are saying that this is censorship or something called "cancel culture." However, only six from his collection of 60 books are ...

by Dr. Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director I hope that you are facing this new year with a renewed sense of hope, tempered with caution for the obstacles that remain in place.  That’s how I’m approaching 2021 with BookSpring.  And I’m grateful that you’re here. We are limiting the office ...

By Emily Ball Cicchini, PhD Making Back To School Special This year back to school feels so strange for so many families.  The comforting routines and rituals we normally repeat this time of year, from purchasing school supplies to meeting the new teachers to getting back to a schedule of ...

by Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director Considering all the challenges for the past fiscal year (July 1, 2019- June 30, 2020), BookSpring is doing remarkably well.  This sense of accomplishment is reflected by those in the community with whom we are working.  We received a modest Payroll Protection Program loan ...

By Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director A recent survey released by the U.S. Census shows that 55% of households with job loss had children in the home.  They were more likely to face food insecurity and be unsure of paying their rent or mortgage in June.  This means that over ...

We are celebrating Emily Ball Cicchini's five-year anniversary at BookSpring! She joined BookSpring in February 2015 and is proud of all that we, as a board, staff, partners, and volunteers, have accomplished together. In Emily’s words, “…this organization is truly a collaborative labor of love for hundreds of very committed ...

by Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director This coming "hindsite is 20/20" year promises to be landmark one for BookSpring and for all the partners and families with children we serve. Wouldn't it be great if we could know now what we'll know in the future? Well, we can't! The best ...

by Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director Reading isn't simple. I am noticing more discussion lately in education circles about reading and complexity. By complexity, we mean both the quality of the text that is being read, and what is going on inside the minds and hearts of the people who ...

by Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director September, 2018: We here are BookSpring have announced a big audacious goal: to get 20 high quality children's books in every Central Texas homes. This vision is being driven by social science research that shows a statistically significant correlation between the size of home ...

This is a suggested pre-meeting reading for August 15, 2018, noon, at the Austin Public Library Central location.  Free, but please RSVP.  To learn more or register, visit here:  BookSpring Lunch & Learn Overview of Volunteerism in America Over 63 million people in the United States volunteer each year, says ...

by Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director This photo was taken at a lunchtime summer Go event at one of the Housing Authority of the City of Austin's community centers. This young girl was so memorable to me, because she was so insistent that I read that one book, a counting ...

By Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director The tradition of book gifting has been studied scientifically by researchers in education and healthcare for many years.  Practices include bookmobiles, little free libraries, and other early literacy interventions and social programs at the regional, national, and global levels. We at BookSpring look to ...

By Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director The statistics about the struggle to achieve full literacy in America are startling and alarming: 14% of Americans are illiterate, with little change over the past decade, and 21% of adults can’t read above a fifth-grade level.  Numerous studies connect lack of reading skills ...

by Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director A little over a year ago, BookSpring was awarded an Impact Grant from IBM to develop a Digital Marketing Strategy for our programs and services. Arranged by BookSpring Champion Beth Tracy, IBM Manager of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, and lead by IBM consultants ...

by Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director I recently passed an anniversary with BookSpring. I cannot tell you how blessed I feel to have been given the honor of carrying forward this worthy vision of creating a more literate future for all our children. Every day of each year, BookSpring has ...

by Emily Ball Cicchini, Executive Director My home was one of the many hit by the Texas Memorial Day floods. We are only now getting everything back in order, thanks to many helpful friends and services, particularly two burly men from Stanley Steamer and two helpful home inspectors from FEMA ...