ALLIANCE LIBRARY SYSTEM ANNOUNCES SMART INVESTING @ YOUR LIBRARY IN BEARDSTOWN

Beardstown – Alliance Library System and Beardstown Houston Memorial Library will launch the “Smart investing @ your library®” program, to promote investor education in the Beardstown community. Beardstown Houston Memorial Library will be working with Alliance Library System to offer programs on investing targeted at baby boomers. Programs will be presented by Paul Santos, Director of Finance, Facilities and Human Resources at the Alliance Library System.

On Saturday, September 6, at 10:00 a.m. in the meeting room, Paul will present “Rules for Retirement” and he will talk about the traditional way people save and invest for retirement and how that is changing. The second session is “Planning Decade by Decade,” talking about what you should do throughout the years to be ready for retirement. This program will take place on Saturday, September 13 at 10:00 a.m. in the meeting room. The third program in the series is “Risk and Reward” where Paul will discuss asset allocation by stage: a different look at different types of investment, the risks involved, and the potential rewards. This program will be held on Saturday, September 20 at 10:00 a.m. in the meeting room.

Paul Santos graduated from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting (1990) and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (1993). He is a Certified Public Accountant in Illinois. He has held accounting and finance positions with utilities and call centers. His experience includes investing grant funds for the Alliance Library System and analyzing, reviewing and recommending investments for 401(k) and pension plans of previous employers.

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. The Smart Investing van will make a stop at Beardstown Houston Memorial Library on Tuesday, August 26 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and at the Beardstown Fall Fun Festival on Saturday, September 27.

“We are so pleased 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.