The Best Western hotel chain has renewed its partnership with the New Orleans Hornets basketball franchise, signing for another two years.

The hotel chain will spend US$110,000 to be presenting sponsor of the New Orleans Hornets Bookmobile, an interactive library-on-wheels that has distributed more than 90,000 free books to students in southeastern Louisiana.

"The entire Hornets family is excited to welcome back Best Western as a presenting partner for the Hornets Bookmobile," said Hornets executive vice president of basketball Chad Shinn. "We appreciate all the hard work and resources that Best Western continues to pour into the New Orleans community, and we appreciate the fact that they share our mission to promote the importance of literacy and education to the youth in the Gulf South."

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David Kong, chief executive of Best Western, added: "Supporting the Hornets Bookmobile is an extension of Best Western hotel owners' philosophy of giving back, especially to children and families. Our work with the Hornets is an investment in an area that lost so much after Hurricane Katrina."

In addition to the sponsorship, since 2007, Best Western hotel owners and staff have reached into their own pockets to donate nearly $130,000 to purchase 65,000 books to help stock the Bookmobile.