CHICAGO — The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) has awarded the 2015 Maureen Hayes Author/Illustrator Visit Award to the Rockford Public Library, Rockford, Illinois.

The award, sponsored by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, is designed to provide up to $4,000 to an ALSC member library to fund a visit from an author/illustrator who will speak to children who might otherwise not have had the opportunity to hear from a nationally known author/illustrator.

Through a partnership with Rockford Area Arts Council, the Rockford Public Library will use the funds to help host acclaimed author-illustrator Marc Brown.

Brown, best known as creator of the incredibly popular “Arthur” picture books and chapter books featuring a young aardvark and his friends and family, inspires children to create their own stories using words and images. He will also present a program at the Nordlof Center Theater; both sessions will be free and open to all interested members of the community.

“Marc really knows how to engage with children,” said Susan Poulter, Grant Administration Committee chair. “They will be inspired by Marc’s presentation to create their own stories. And who knows? One day one of these children may visit a library as a result of a Maureen Hayes Award.”

ALSC, a division of the ALA, is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, visit ALSC’s website at .

Members of the 2015 ALSC Grant Administration Committee include: Susan Poulter, chair, Nashville (Tennessee) Public Library; Sondra Sue Eklund, Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Library; Kathleen Neil, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Maryland; Amy Sears, Teaneck (New Jersey) Public Library; Jennifer M. Smith, Suffern (New York) Free Library; Elizabeth Stalford, Bellevue (Washington) Public Library; Laurie Swartwout, Cardinal Stritch University Library, Milwaukee; and Andrea Vernola, Kalamazoo (Michigan) Public Library.