Gulf Coast libraries get grants to help rebuild

CHALMETTE, La. (AP) — School libraries wiped out by hurricanes Katrina and Rita are getting grants worth $500,000 to help them rebuild, along with a rare magazine collection, first lady Laura Bush and media executives announced Wednesday.

Bush, a former librarian and public school teacher, announced the grants at Chalmette High School in St. Bernard Parish, where every building — including 15 schools — was flooded.

Seven public and private schools in Louisiana and three in Mississippi will receive the money from the Laura Bush Foundation's Gulf Coast Library Recovery Initiative.