Smart investing @ your library

[East Peoria, IL] – Alliance Library System will launch the “Smart investing @ your library®” program, to promote investor education in libraries in central Illinois and in the virtual world of Second Life. Alliance Library System will offer programs on investing targeted at baby boomers in libraries, on a van at county fairs and festivals, and in Second Life.

In January 2008, Alliance Library System was awarded a $100,000 grant funded by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation as part of the “Smart investing @ your library®” program. Alliance Library System was one of only 13 libraries nationwide to be selected for participation.

The grant will help to build the capacity of libraries in the Alliance Library System to provide effective, unbiased investor education to the community at large. With the funding, Alliance Library System will provide investing programs in communities around central Illinois, provide a Smart Investing van to spread the word at county fairs, health fairs, and library events, and to create an informational presence in the virtual world of Second Life. For information on the project and dates of events, check out the website at http://www.smartinvestingatyourlibrary.info.

“We are thrilled to have been selected by the ALA and FINRA Investor Education Foundation for participation in this important investor education program,” said Kitty Pope, Executive Director of the Alliance Library System. “Through the grant, we are able to offer a number of new high-quality investor educations and services, enabling our libraries to become an even stronger resource for patrons looking to learn more about investment options and saving strategies.”

“Public libraries can serve as an important source of reliable information for millions of investors trying to make sense of challenging financial topics,” said FINRA Investor Education Foundation Chairman Mary Schapiro, who also serves as FINRA’s CEO. “Our Foundation is proud to partner with the ALA and to support the important investor education efforts at Alliance Library System.”

“Public libraries have always been a valuable source of information for the communities of central Illinois, and we are pleased to be able to help them expand their offerings in the area of investor education,” said ALA President Loriene Roy. “Whether choosing what type of savings plan makes most sense for a family, researching a potential stock investment or learning more about bank products, public libraries offer the needed resources to help its patrons make Smart investing decisions.”

“Smart investing @ your library®” is being administered jointly by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the ALA, and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation (formerly known as the NASD Investor Education Foundation). The program supports public libraries in their efforts to meet investor education and protection needs at the community level.

Established in 1876, the ALA is the oldest and largest library association in the world. Its mission is “to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.” For more information, visit www.ala.org.

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation supports innovative research and educational projects that give underserved Americans the knowledge, skills and tools necessary for financial success throughout life. To date, the FINRA Foundation has approved $14.7 million in grants and an additional $10.2 million in direct investor education programming. For details about grant programs and other FINRA Foundation initiatives, visit www.finrafoundation.org.

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. Created in 2007 through the consolidation of NASD and NYSE Member Regulation, FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business — from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms; writing and enforcing rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educating the investing public; providing trade reporting and other industry utilities, and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and registered firms. For more information, please visit www.FINRA.org.