New Program Will Be Called ‘Baby Brilliant Goes to College'
Library Receives $57,950 Grant to Promote Financial Literacy

YOUNGSTOWN (February 5, 2008) -- The Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County (PLYMC) has been awarded a $57,950 grant for a financial literacy program with a focus on helping parents save and invest in their children's education. The new program ties this grant in with the Library's early literacy program, Baby Brilliant, and will be called “Baby Brilliant Goes to College.”

The Library is one of 13 nationwide selected for participation in Smart Investing @ your library ® , a joint grant program sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation.

The grant will help to build the capacity of the Library to provide effective, unbiased investor education to the community at large.

“We are so pleased to have been selected by the ALA and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation for participation in this investor education program,” said Carlton A. Sears, Library director. “Through the grant, we will offer a number of new, high-quality investor education opportunities and services, enabling our library 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 PLYMC.”

“PLYMC has always been a valuable source of information for the Mahoning County community, 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, the Mahoning County library system offers the needed resources to help its patrons make smart investing decisions.”

As part of the outreach for the Smart Investing @ your library ® program, The Library will be working in partnership with a number of civic groups. More information will be released as details are completed.

Smart Investing @ your library ® is administered by the Reference and User Services Association, a division of the ALA , in partnership with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. The program helps public libraries 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 http://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