Heather Maneiro

As a youth, Heather Maneiro was an avid book hound growing up in Rugby.

As the Instruction & Information Literacy Librarian at Minnesota State University-Moorhead, Maneiro is trying to help raise some book puppies in Rugby.

Maneiro is part of the Comstock Reading Aloud Initiative committee, which grades children’s books to determine which are most enjoyed by both children and teachers.

Through her involvement in that program, Maneiro was able to donate 70 unique children’s books to the Heart of America Library.

The program was started at the university in 2005, and awards both the Comstock Read Book Award and the Wanda Gag Read Aloud Book Award each year.

“Publishers from all over send in books,” she said. “We review them and see how we think they’ll do. Once we screen them and decide what we’re going to consider and not consider, we ship them out to students to gauge their interaction and let the students give feedback.”

In 2012, the group received 374 unique books from publishers, 200 of which Maneiro read herself. Generally, the publishers send three copies of each book so they can be used in multiple classrooms.

Maneiro, in her fourth year at the school, and the rest of the 9-person board are able to distribute the books after they’re done grading them.

“Basically what happens, the committee members as part of the work they do for the committee, they get to select up to three organizations they would like (to donate to),” she said. “You designate an organization you would like to receive your share of books.”

Maneiro made the decision to give to the Heart of America Library, but that didn’t immediately mean the books would arrive in Rugby.

Maneiro contacted HAML director Sheila Craun, who said the library would be able take the books.

“With how expensive it is to get books, (it’s not always possible),” Maneiro said. “It takes so much money just to get them on the shelves, to put the barcode on and put them in the records.”

The program’s goals are to recognize the authors and illustrators of the best books, to promote reading aloud as a lifelong activity and to assist anyone who reads to children with quality materials.

Maneiro said it was a good feeling to be able to give back to the library where she spent so many hours and learned so much.