FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Westminster, Md. (December 19, 2005) – Research shows that even infants benefit from exposure to books and reading. The "Books for Babies" Project teaches parents that infants who have access to books and are exposed to reading at a young age have a better chance of acquiring the pre-reading and pre-writing skills they need for success in school. This community-based outreach program, administered by the Carroll County Local Management Board, began in 1992 through a partnership of the Woman’s Club of Westminster, Carroll County Public Library and the Carroll County Health Department. In 2004 the Carroll County School Readiness Team expanded the project and in that year nearly 1,300 Books for Babies bags were distributed to the parents of newborns at Carroll Hospital Center. Parents of newborns receive a "Books for Babies" bag that contains early literacy information and a free touch and feel book, "Night, Night Baby". Carroll Hospital Center is committed to continuing this program for every new baby born in its Family Birthplace. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the "Books for Babies" Project, please send your donation to the Carroll County Local Management Board, Attention: Beverly Massicot, 10 Distillery Dr., Suite 101, Westminster, MD 21157. Please make your check payable to "Books for Babies". One hundred percent of donations go to support the "Books for Babies" Project at Carroll Hospital Center. Carroll Hospital Center, founded in 1961 as Carroll County General Hospital, is a nonprofit, acute care facility offering a continuum of services, including comprehensive inpatient, outpatient and community programs. ###