AUGUSTA – The Maine Reads Community Literacy Project, a new grants program targeting Maine libraries, has been launched by First Lady Karen Baldacci.

It is part of Maine Reads and is designed to strengthen the interaction of libraries and their communities. Planning grant applications are available on the Maine Reads Web site, www.mainereads.org, or by calling 871-9100.

Libraries are invited to apply for a literacy project planning grant by Jan. 15. They must complete a planning grant before submitting an implementation grant. The planning grant application is a simple one-page application.

Planning grants are for $250, while implementation grants offer up to $2,000. The deadline for submission of an implementation grant is April 15.

The Maine Reads Community Literacy Project is a new initiative of Maine Reads and is made possible by Verizon’s Check Into Literacy program, the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation and Maine Community Foundation.

Maine Reads is a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote literacy through public policy, fund-raising for literacy projects statewide and providing opportunities for people of all ages to access quality literacy programs.

For the past five years, Maine Reads has presented Read with ME, an outreach program that gets books to Maine’s kindergartners and is made possible by Verizon.

Through the Maine Reads Community Literacy Project, libraries will be invited to apply for funding to develop local literacy advisory panels and literacy programs.

The literacy project is designed to help identify unmet literacy needs and to develop projects and activities to meet those needs. Its goal is to increase literacy in Maine through the participation of communities and use of libraries. The plan is to generate literacy programs that enlist the involvement of community leaders and literacy, arts and educational organizations, using libraries as the foundation for the programs.

The Maine Reads Community Literacy Project is funded in part by Verizon customers using their Verizon phone bill to support literacy initiatives in Maine. Through its Check Into Literacy program, Verizon customers can make a $1 tax-deductible donation each month to Verizon Reads, a public charity.