A lot of budding authors and illustrators are walking the halls of Griffin Elementary School in Cooper City.

For the past 12 years, the school has operated a volunteer-led Publishing Center that is run during school hours to help turn the writing of students into bound books.

Media Specialist Susan B. Hall said the program has served as a model for school publishing operations for schools throughout Broward.

``We have the longest-running publishing center in the county that I know of,'' she said.

The center is open from 8:30 a.m. to noon every Tuesday and Thursday.

Parent Kelly Lynn, who has volunteered for the past 10 years, is the service's longest-tenured volunteer.

``The kids who come in here get really excited, especially the younger kids,'' she said.

Fourth-grade teacher Christine Caruso, whose mother, Mina DeChristopher is a center volunteer, said students typically write the stories in class and teachers help edit them.

When students are ready to start their book, they go into the Publishing Center where a volunteer will review their work and help them fill out a biography page. Then the student selects a set of book covers, which are made by adhering decorative contact paper to poster board, Lynn said.

A volunteer types the text of the book into a center computer, then the story is printed out. After proofing and corrections, the book is bound and returned to the student for illustrations.

Caruso said she uses the center as a reward for writing skills in her class.

``It's a treat for them; they get rewarded for their good writing,'' she said. ``The kids want to elaborate more and include details that make their stories come alive because they want to be recognized and get published. It truly makes writing fun and is an enrichment to the classroom.''

Students also can go to the school's website and submit stories and their bios online, Caruso said.

Each year, the school holds two or three writing contests for subjects like scary stories or sports writing, and the winners get to conduct a reading at the public library or a bookstore.

``I think it makes the connection between reading literature and their own writing,'' Hall said. ``It inspires them to write and illustrate creatively.''

The center has become a source of pride for the students.

``They're groomed from kindergarten on to publish their works, and when they do readings, they see themselves as professional writers and illustrators,'' Hall said. ``It gets in their blood.''

There are children who start the school year speaking little English who go on to write stories and read their work at bookstores, Hall said.

She has seen children read about their heroes and leave not a dry eye in the house. And she's watched students with autism and other disorders enjoy the biggest success of their young lives at their readings.

``The readings are packed with parents and grandparents, and there's a lot of love in the room,'' Hall said. ``I don't know who gets more out of it.''

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