City of Montclair Prepares for "Booktoberfest" -- A Children's Educational and Cultural Experience

City of Montclair Prepares for "Booktoberfest" -- A
Children's
Educational and Cultural Experience

Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages Donates $25,000 to Booktoberfest

September 27, 1999

Montclair, N.J.--In an effort to promote children's literacy, the
Montclair Library prepares for the 6th annual Booktoberfest celebration.
Booktoberfest, held October 2 and 3 on the campus of the George Inness
School, also serves as a fundraiser for children's resources for the
Montclair Library system. Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages is the exclusive
corporate sponsor of Booktoberfest.

With free admission to Booktoberfest, children will experience a
celebration of books, culture, and the arts under big top tents. Celebrities,
including Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Yogi Berra and Larry Doby,
will conduct Q&A and story reading sessions with the children. Bobbi
Brown, founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, will entertain children with
face painting makeovers. Top area journalists and industry professionals
will conduct children's workshops on newspaper writing, comic art,
bookbinding, and papermaking. In addition, Booktoberfest will include
live music, children's rides, games and food.

Reader's Digest and other publishers have made a commitment to the
Booktoberfest effort by donating a total of 90,000 children's books. The
sales of these books will serve as the primary source of fundraising. Event
coordinators expect this year's to be the largest ever with anticipation of
over 15,000 attendees.

"We have seen an outpouring of community support for the
Booktoberfest experience," said Rose Cali, event chairman.
"With an army of over 250 volunteers and Bell Atlantic Yellow
Pages' generous donation, this year's program is sure to be our best one
yet."

The original Booktoberfest celebration in 1994 was created to support
plans to expand the Montclair public library. With the expansion
complete, the library continues the annual Booktoberfest event because it
is more than a fundraiser--it is a community experience built around
books.

"Montclair's Booktoberfest is a perfect example of how industry can
support community and children's literacy," said Louis Laste,
director of Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages Children's Literacy Program.
"We are excited to be the corporate sponsor of Booktoberfest. We
look forward to a continued relationship with the Montclair community as
they strive to improve children's education and literacy."

Since the inception of the Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages literacy campaign,
the company has continued to increase its involvement in children's
literacy efforts by encouraging the public to recognize the positive impact
reading has on children. Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages has donated time and
resources toward children's literacy organizations in its Maine-to-Virginia
marketplace. The program offers assistance in the form of book donation,
training programs for volunteer tutors, community awareness events, as
well as financial donations.

The Montclair Public Library fosters children's literacy with over 700
programs a year, including a 15-computer children's technology center and
tens of thousands of books. This year the library distributed 9,000
children's books to day care centers and conducted programs at 60
outreach sites such as schools, nurseries, day care centers and camps.
Library staff also read stories in hospital pediatric clinics and partner with
the local Head Start agency on family literacy activities. For information
on the Montclair Public Library and its family literacy initiatives, call
(973) 744-0500, ext. 225.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With 43 million telephone access lines and nearly
10 million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are
premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market
leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publisher of directory
information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world',s largest
investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations
and investments in 23 countries.

Booktoberfest will be held Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m at the George Inness Annex of Montclair High
School, at the corner of Park and Chestnut Streets in Montclair.
Admission is free. For additional information please call the Montclair
Library at (973) 744-0500.