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Margaret at the blog Throwing Chanclas recently shared the plight of a school in her neighborhood:

The local junior/senior high school has not been able to purchase new books since the 90s. Some of the "check outs" for old books are in the 1980s. There are no books by people of color in the library. Hardly any books by women are in the few book cases except your standard Austen and Lee. It's an uninviting place. There hasn't been a librarian for nearly a decade. And volunteers weren't allowed. The last eight years students couldn't even check out books.

But all that is changing now.

Margaret is now collecting books for the library. Let's help out! You can donate books via their Amazon wishlist or by sending books directly to the address below. For more informaion, please email Margaret and visit her blog.

Greenville High School/Indian Valley Academy
Library Project Attn: Margaret Garcia
117 Grand Street
Greenville, CA 95947

If sending during the month of July, when school is closed, please send to:

Library Project/Margaret Garcia
PO Box 585
Greenville, CA 95947

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I seriously debated posting this, since it’s a subject not often discussed. But heck, I’m known for my honestly, so let’s giddy-up…

How do authors handle being asked to donate individual book(s) to worthy causes? Honestly, they’re all worthy, but let’s shed some light on an aspect of publishing most people don’t realize: authors DO NOT get their books for free.

Oh yes, we receive author copies, but a very limited number which are for our own collection or have already been promised to family and close friends. My author copies for THE MONSTORE were gone the week they arrived. I don’t have any more. If I want my book, I have to buy it. This holds true for all authors. While we did write the book, the publisher edited it, printed it, warehoused it, marketed it and distributed it. And that costs money. Someone has to pay for it!

Authors do receive a discount off the retail price, but it’s not a staggering discount. And, the copies we order this way are recorded as “author copies” and don’t count toward our sales figures. And if you ask any author, if the Publishing Fairy could grant their most favoritest wish, it would be for higher sales figures.

So if we’re going to buy our own books, we tend to buy them like any  other consumer would—online or at a book store, wherever we might get the best price.

Now let’s circle back to donations. When someone asks an author to donate their book to a school fundraiser, church tricky-tray or Elk’s basket auction, it’s not free to that author. True, the author might ask their publisher to donate the book on their behalf if it’s a really well-known cause, but otherwise, a small, local organization’s fundraiser is not going to sway the publisher. So then the author must decide if they can spend about $15 to donate their book to the cause (the cost of a picture book, plus shipping, plus any SWAG).

Imagine an author gets about five of these requests a month. That’s not an unreasonable number, especially if they have multiple books in print. If the author generously says “yes” to all requests, that’s $75 a month. Multiply by 12 months and it’s $900. That’s not an insignificant amount of money. In fact, that’s more than some book advances!

Now, if an author says “no” to a donation request, this does not make them a bad person who does not understand the worthiness of the cause. It simply means they cannot afford to do so. They cannot honor every request. While they probably *want* to donate to someone’s school or house of worship, they do have their own schools and houses of worship to support as well. So it’s more likely that they’ll donate to their local organizations than to a stranger’s cause.

Please know that the last thing authors want to do is hurt anyone’s feelings. Authors write books to make people feel good, to entertain, to bring smiles to faces. We love our readers. We don’t want to disappoint them. It’s difficult for us to say “no”. But sometimes our own wallets force the decision.

I haven’t been asked to donate much, so I’ve tried to oblige when I can. But the simple fact is that I have not logged any income as a writer this year, only expenses. Shocking? Not really. My first book was just released and I haven’t made a new book sale in 2013 yet—and even if I do, it’s so close to the end of the year, by the time the contracts are signed and a check is cut, it will probably be 2014. I’m not the only author spending this year in the red.

If you really LOVE an author’s work and want to share it with others, why not ask your local bookseller for a donation instead? They may donate if they’re a neighbor who supports the same school, the same church, the same Rotary Club. They’ll receive advertising out of the donation and can probably expect locals to visit the store as a result, especially if they include a coupon or gift card to redeem. And if they unfortunately say “no”, it probably means they can’t afford to do so, either.

But it never hurts to ask, right? We can all ask, but we can also understand the reasons behind the answer.

Do you have any thoughts on this? It’s a subject that ‘s tricky to discuss…

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Today's post is short and sweet. 

Award winning author Dallas Woodburn has created and has maintained a yearly holiday book drive for underprivileged children and YOU CAN HELP!

It’s the 10th annual holiday book drive to benefit underprivileged children! through Write On!
 
Last year Write On! For Literacy collected nearly 1,000 books (bringing our grand total to more than 12,000 books!) that were distributed to various schools and charities including the Boys & Girls Club, Casa Pacifica, and Project Understanding. Please do your part to help children have a better holiday season. Help beat illiteracy and give the gift that lasts forever: the gift of reading!

Make a difference and give the gift that keeps giving.

For all the details go to:
http://dallaswoodburn.blogspot.com/2011/11/10th-annual-holiday-book-drive-to.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Until next time,

Karen Cioffi

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They are in neat little piles—on the dining table, the corner of your desk, the floor in front of your desk, and in front of the bookcase (the shelves of which are full)—books! The women at the library see you so often that they have christened you with a nickname. Are there other places where your books could find love? Yes, Virginia, there are!

• Family Shelters/Women’s Shelters/Homeless Shelters/Teen Pregnancy Homes/ Orphanages


• Drug Rehabilitation Homes


• Child Outreach Programs


• Assisted Living Centers


• Long-Term Care Centers


• Hospitals


• Prisons


• Juvenile Detention Centers


• Churches


• Literacy Programs


• And charities that operate thrift stores such as Humane Society, Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc…

No time to track down a local charity? Perhaps you would like to act globally. Following are a few links to organizations which may be of interest.

Donation Town

http://www.donationtown.org/news/donate-books.html

You want to give back to your own community but don’t have time to track down a needy cause— Donation Town can help. Simply type in your zip code and Donation Town will provide you with a list of organizations that want your donation and will even arrange for a free pick-up. You can’t beat that!

Operation Paperback

http://www.operationpaperback.org/help_volunteer.php

The men and women of our armed forces like to escape with a good book too! Input the genres you wish to donate and their automated system will generate a list of servicemembers’ names and addresses. Requires a quick, free registration.

Better World Books

http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Info-Donate-Books-m-7.aspx

This is an online book store with a purpose. Better World Books collects new and used books; some books are donated directly to charities, others are sold with the proceeds helping to fund literacy programs in the U.S. and around the world. This is a socially and environmentally responsible company.

Liberian Development Foundation

2 Comments on When the Bookshelves Spilleth Over: Ideas and Links for Book Donations, last added: 1/15/2011

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BREAKING NEWS! readergirlz and First Book are partnering to give away more than 125,000 brand-new books to low-income teen readers.

They’re great books, too, donated by generous publishers. Among the three dozen choices are P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast’s HOUSE OF NIGHT series and Alyson Noël’s SHADOWLAND.

We need your help getting the word out about the A Novel Gift campaign. Right now! Right now! As in, now!

Let's get organizations serving these teens registered with First Book so they can be matched with inventory during the holidays.

Here’s what we need you to do:

Post to Facebook and tweet your beak off about these books using the hashtag #novelgift.

Here’s a tinyurl link to their registration page: http://tinyurl.com/2a5mwpj.

Or you can link to this blog post: http://readergirlz.blogspot.com/2010/11/novel-gift-over-125000-free-books-to.html

Then, get in touch with every group you can think of that works with young adults–schools, after-school programs, church youth groups, community centers, etc.—and let them know that these books are available now. 

The five-minute online registration these groups can use is here:
http://booksforkids.firstbook.org/register/

First Book is also eager to answer questions, either by email to [email protected]

0 Comments on A Novel Gift: readergirlz and First Book donate books to low-income teens as of 1/1/1900

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BREAKING NEWS! readergirlz and First Book are partnering to give away more than 125,000 brand-new books to low-income teen readers.

They’re great books, too, donated by generous publishers. Among the three dozen choices are P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast’s HOUSE OF NIGHT series and Alyson Noël’s SHADOWLAND.

We need your help getting the word out about the A Novel Gift campaign. Right now! Right now! As in, now!

Let's get organizations serving these teens registered with First Book so they can be matched with inventory during the holidays.

Here’s what we need you to do:

Post to Facebook and tweet your beak off about these books using the hashtag #novelgift.

Here’s a tinyurl link to their registration page: http://tinyurl.com/2a5mwpj.

Or you can link to this blog post: http://readergirlz.blogspot.com/2010/11/novel-gift-over-125000-free-books-to.html

Then, get in touch with every group you can think of that works with young adults–schools, after-school programs, church youth groups, community centers, etc.—and let them know that these books are available now. 

The five-minute online registration these groups can use is here:
http://booksforkids.firstbook.org/register/

First Book is also eager to answer questions, either by email to [email protected]

0 Comments on A Novel Gift: readergirlz and First Book donate books to low-income teens as of 1/1/1900

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From author Eric Luper:

St. Anne Institute Book Drive

St. Anne's is a residential and therapeutic facility for at-risk girls ages 12 to 18 from all over New York State. It has been in operation since 1887. [ . . . ] If you are an editor, an agent, a publishing bigwig, a published author, an aspiring writer, or simply a concerned citizen, please consider donating whatever you can.

There are a few ways you can help:

1) If you have books on-hand and would like to ship them, please contact me via my webpage. [Eric] will forward you the mailing address and you can ship boxes by media mail.

2) If you'd rather donate books by phone, [Eric has] made arrangements with The Little Book House, an independent bookseller in Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany. You can drop by the store or call in and order a book at (518) 437-0101. They have a wishlist from the teachers, librarians and students and you can select something from the list. They've even agreed to offer a 20% discount for books slated for St. Anne's!

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Fairmont Hotels & Resorts of the US West partnered with the Pajama Program’s OPEN YOUR HEART Campaign will deliver warm sleepwear and nurturing books to children in need.

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Are any of your books loooking for a new home? Here's a novel idea. Pun intended. It's awkward it never occurred to me before: bring your books to homeless shelters. Head on over
to the ABC news site for an eye-opening piece on book clubs forming in these shelters. In my book, food, clothing, and shelter provide the traditional necessities, but let's not forget that other basic need: to read, to connect, to share, to see ourselves in stories and to feel less alone.

From the article:
"At a time when book-reading is declining and is especially low among poorer people according to a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll, the book club at 2100 Lakeside seems ill-fated. But, while 1 in 4 people polled admitted to having read no books in 2006, homeless men here are reading two a month."


I know I am preaching to the choir when I say there "is no frigate like a book." (Why argue with Emily Dickinson?)

There is no frigate like a book (1263)
by Emily Dickinson

There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away,
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry –
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll –
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears a Human soul.

Many moons ago, I found refuge in the pages of a book. That was X thousand books ago as well. (Numbers schmumbers.) One of the first books I ever read to myself-- and then to my parents-- was AND TO THINK THAT I SAW IT ON MULBERRY STREET. The man who launched 10,000 children's book editors pleas for "No Dr. Seuss imitators" celebrates his birthday today, March 2nd. Happy Birthday, Theodor Seuss Geisel. I'll always love you. Not green eggs. Not ham. (The food. LOVED the book.) When I realized I Could Read it Myself, hello, I found nirvana and I never, ever looked back. Not sure what would have become of me but I suspect none of it would have been good.

I guess you could say what I found on Mulberry Street was... me.


Dr. Seuss, still looking good at 104

P.S. Seuss's Mulberry Street was in Springfield, Massachusetts, Geisel's birthplace. Not the infamous Mulberry Street in Little Italy more familiar to residents of the New York area. In a 6 Degrees from Kevin Bacon way, it pleases me to know I touched Seuss DNA somewhere, sometime in the course of the six years I lived in Springfield, Mass. His love was in the air. Everywhere. And now that I look back on those years, I sort of miss Springfield, too. Oh the things I could think about, all those things that happened in my life in Springfield. But that's another story.



"Nothing," I said, growing red as a beet,
"But a plain horse and wagon on Mulberry Street..."



As the Good Book says, according to Dr. Seuss:
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”

(In truth: today was okay. Too busy for a Saturday. A little too much pressure and angst. But tomorrow is another one and another chance to make it better. You know, as in Hey Jude... "Then you can start to make it better..." I'm here, I'm not. I know. I'm lost in the bowels of parenting and real life and calendars and checkbooks. Wake me up when the bat mitzvah's over.)

Don't ask. It's all right, Ma. Just accept. Yes. That's Bob Dylan. Must See Hava Negila. ;>

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...is not going to happen right at this moment. Too much to say and not enough energy to say it. I have been sick today, and have slept more in the last 24 hours than I have in a long time. I spent much of Sunday blanking as I talked to people, knowing something was going wrong with my head (I'm sure it's another sinus infection) but needing to finish up everything before heading home from ALA.

Anyway, I'm looking at all these ARCs I got from the show, and thinking about what I'll do with them--and with some ARCs I no longer need from previous years--when I'm done with them. Many I'll keep on hand until I can get the book, or even after that. But what about the ones that I no longer need once I've had a chance to read them? I really should start looking for a place to donate them to. (This of course takes into account sharing the ARCs with other people interested before being done with them--I have several friends who love fantasy, for example, to whom I pass these around, but I'm speaking of after that's done, too. And if I can read fast enough, I can donate at least a few of them to the Teen Center at the library, if I finish before the pub date.)

The library is out, because they need finished books (except the one case above). (And I do donate finished books especially when it's something they don't have in their catalog.) I've seen librarians discuss this very issue, and they've talked about things like donating them to youth detention centers--places that rarely get the attention that children's hospitals do--or to soldiers abroad.

So I thought perhaps people in the Seattle area, especially, might be aware of venues that need books, especially those who don't have regular access to a public library and not enough money to go to a bookstore. Suggestions? I'm looking for links to specific places, especially. I'm moving at the end of March and I'd like to work on lightening my book load in the next couple of months! Like that'll ever really happen--but I'd like to strive a little toward that, even if it's just a little bit, and do some good in the process.

Too many parentheses, I know. That must mean I need more sleep.

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