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The Book Lady And Her Colorful Van, More Than 'White Boys And Dogs'

Laurence Copel founded the Lower 9th Ward’s free library and currently operates the city’s only functional book mobile. According to a 2015 report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 77 percent of fourth graders in Louisiana are not proficient in reading. Tyler Gillespie has this profile of Copel, whose work is focused on child literacy. She says some children in New Orleans face extreme disadvantages because of limited access to books.