Longboat boutique boosts new literacy nonprofit branch

Having books readily available for at-home reading is one of the most effective approaches to improving reading skills amongst youngsters, according to the founding team at Bernie's Book Bank. With that in mind, local leaders are working to get more books in the hands of students throughout the community.

Longboat's J. McLaughlin clothing boutique spotlighted the newest branch of the childhood literacy organization at a recent Sip and Shop event.

A portion of sales at the March 28 booster goes toward supporting the group's mission. But the event also served to raise awareness of the organization, which opened a Sarasota branch last year.

Brian Floriani founded Bernie's Book Bank in 2009. Three years into operating, team members reached the milestone of distributing 1 million books to children.

Courtesy image

The momentum has only continued. In 2015, the team opened a distribution facility in the Chicago area, and in 2024, it expanded to Milwaukee, reaching 60 new schools. Through those arms, Bernie's Book Bank has hand-delivered more than 30 million books.

Now, the newest step is expanding to the Florida Suncoast. Amy Bott, executive director of the new branch and the representative who spoke with Longboaters at the boutique event, said exciting new things are on the horizon.

"We are almost done distributing four new, high-quality books to every kindergartner and first grader at a Title 1 school in Sarasota and Manatee counties this school year," she said. "Next year, I'm excited because we'll be expanding all the way to fifth grade."

The book bank officially expanded to Sarasota in 2025, and the team is in the midst of establishing a local collection and distribution facility this summer, she said.

Bott said this outreach is essential, especially considering current data on reading levels.

Average reading scores measured in The Nation's Report Card went down by two points among fourth and eighth graders between 2022 and 2024.

With the launch of the new Florida arm, the organization aims to reach 300,000 children, giving them free, high-quality books to call their own.

Bott, a former high school science teacher, said the organization wanted to start a branch here to reach more students nationwide.

"While I wasn't at elementary schools teaching reading or English, I did see the correlation with 15- and 16-year-olds who were struggling to read and struggled in my class," she said.

She said it was difficult to see teenagers going to school every day while believing they couldn't be successful there.

"The students who didn't struggle to read saw a world of possibilities there for them," she said. "That's what we're trying to increase here, with early intervention."

Bernie's Book Bank's philosophy isn't just about giving students the physical reading resources. By giving youngsters books to call their own, they hope to also inspire passion for reading, helping students see reading as a fun and valuable pastime, not solely a task to be checked off.

Through its local partnerships with Children First and Big Brothers Big Sisters, the book bank looks forward to spreading plenty of "book joy," Bott said.