Books handed out to community at Western Library Block Party

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A national program is helping to get books into the hands of kids living in Louisville's underserved neighborhoods.

New, free books were given out at Saturday's Western Library Block Party at the Louisville Western Branch Library.

The Book Rich Environments program, which encourages kids living in public housing or underserved areas to build lasting relationships with literature, provided Louisville with more than 14,000 books to give out this year.

The block party also featured free health screenings and other resources for the community.

"I hope it benefits the library so that people know how much that we care and that we want to give back and how much we really care about the community that's around us," said Natalie Woods, the library's branch manager.

The Book Rich Environments program will give out more than 1 million free books to families all across the United States this year.