Written By Greg Barber:

Over the past summer, our Alpha Epsilon Omicron chapter of Phi Theta Kappa undertook one of the book drives sponsored by Better World Books. We filled sixty-five boxes, and totaled approximately 900 textbooks. No one in our chapter thought we would collect that many, and it would be an understatement to say that our expectations were greatly exceeded. We were stunned by our own success.  But looking back on the whole experience, it is apparent that this book drive wouldn’t have been the success it was if it weren’t for the presence of several key components.

Making the campus aware of the project, of course, is one of the keystones. Beginning in the early stages of the project, we sent out emails and put up flyers to notify our fellow students about the book drive. Even before the collection boxes were out, all three campuses knew that this project was going to begin soon. The time we put into the advertisement portion of this project definitely paid off. Students knew exactly when and where to donate their books, and contributions started coming in as soon as we put the boxes up.

Also, thoughtful placement of the boxes increased our donations tremendously. We placed them in high traffic areas such as the library entrance, frequently traversed hallways, and the bookstore. The bookstore location was an especially important collection spot due to the time of the project. Book-buy-back week was underway, and by placing the box adjacent to the buy-back center, it was ensured that any surplus books would be donated.

Contributions from faculty are also something that is definitely worth looking into. About half of our donations were from the college’s faculty and staff. All it took was an email from our advisor notifying the rest of the faculty that this project was coming up. To make it easy for people to donate, we designed one day a campus-wide “Book Blitz,” when chapter members and volunteers made the rounds to collect books at faculty and staff offices.  The response was enthusiastic, and plenty of our people were more than willing to get a few old books off their hands.

And lastly, the most important factor that resulted in this successful book drive was dedication. A committed team of people can go a long way. We started the project, and kept with it all the way until the end. Everyone stayed positive, were supportive of each other, and were always ready to offer assistance in any way possible.

Basically, thoughtful planning, willingness to dedicate time, and a team of committed people are really all that is needed to put on a successful book drive.

We have a new Regional Director, Damara Catlett, working in the Northern Mid-Atlantic Region...

My name is Damara and I’m the newest addition to the Better World Books team! I graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where I double majored in History and Africana studies. In addition, I finished my degree at the University of Pennsylvania this past spring. Throughout my undergraduate career I was always a very active student leader. I served as the president of the Black Student Union for two years and was a member of several organizations. Additionally, I worked as a library reference assistant for three years and interned for a State Representative.

I’m a Philadelphia native and a lover of the arts. Whether, it is a cultural event, concert or art exhibit happening in the city, I’m there! Moreover, I’m an avid reader, a lover of ethnic foods, a coffee connoisseur and passionate about politics and issues of social justice particularly concerning Africa. I also, fancy myself an artist sometimes and taught silk screening and enameling at a local art camp while in high school. Thus far, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with Better World Books and believe in our mission that literacy directly correlates to the expansion of opportunity and the realization of an improved quality of life.

The National Association of College Stores' "College Store" magazine promoted an idea this month:  it is in the best of campus bookstores to purchase all books from students during buyback, even those they cannot use.   BWB has piloted a program addressing this need, one where the books also serve our literacy partners.  This is our response when the issue surfaced recently on the NACS textbook listserv:

Paying cash to students for books your store can’t use is a conundrum.

One the one hand, students enjoy receiving something—anything—for their unwanted book; but, more importantly, students hate leaving your store with their old books in hand; according to TRU Research, students’ second largest complaint after cost of books is that their store doesn’t accept all books at buyback.  Sessions at both CAMEX and ConTEXT went to lengths to highlight this point.

On the other, paying cash for books which offer your store little or no utility doesn’t make a lick of sense, not even to a simple country boy like me.  Why buy something you can’t use?

Here is one solution:  Through a program we’ve been piloting with members of the NCBA, we reimburse your store for any cash outlays in exchange for the books.  Plus, we pay postage.  We developed this model with tremendous input from stores like yours.

I appreciate the non-solicitation policy of this listserv, and just wanted to let you this program is available.   Ueli Stadler (Reed College, NCBA President) among others, can attest to its success.

As many of you know, Better World Books is social enterprise modeled after Goodwill Industries; we offer for sale some of the books we receive, with their proceeds supporting a host of literacy organizations, primarily Books For Africa.  Incidentally, one post on this topic humorously suggests Brad and Angelina floating the bill to send the books to Africa.  While we’d love such an act of generosity, we’re not waiting for charity; we’re sustainable. 

Under “Strategic Goal: Sustainability Policy” in NACS Board of Trustees “Memo from the Boardroom”: NACS is committed to engaging in environmentally friendly practices and utilizing sound business practices.  What’s good for the environment and your bottom-line is a beautiful marriage, and we applaud NACS recent decision to join the Higher Education Sustainability Council.  We’re glad to share this path with you, and are proud our model allows us to help solve the sustainability conundrum—how to give students cash for books you don’t need.

Billy is a former campus rep for University of Miami who is now at the receiving end of our literacy efforts in Tanzania.  He met up with our group of BWB employees who visited Africa this summer and wrote this heartfelt note to share  his experience with us all. 

"Oftentimes we never fully realize the global impact we can have from what we do on our college campuses.  We brought Better World Books to UM in Fall 2003, and in the four semesters I oversaw the bookdrives we brought in over 12,000 books to go towards Books for Africa.  At the time, I thought collecting books to benefit schools and students in the developing world was "a nice thing to do."  Little did I know at the time that after graduating in May 2005, I would accept a two-year volunteer teaching position at a high school in one of the poorest parts of Tanzania, East Africa.  The school I teach at now is a recipient of books from BWB and BFA.  Living and teaching here has made me fully understand how important the work of these organizations and the students at college campuses who coordinate these efforts truly are.  For my students, providing them with books no longer seems as though it is simply a "nice thing to do;" it is the means to provide better education, to overcome poverty, and to have hope for a brighter future.  For us on this side of the globe, it means a world of difference.  Thank you to everyone who is giving us such hope.  We are forever grateful."

 -- Billy Bludgus
    Butler Volunteer Services Center
    University of Miami  

Golden Key International Honour Society, an academic honor society which recognizes and encourages scholastic achievement among university students from all academic disciplines, has embraced "literacy" as their target service project in '06-07. 

BWB's CEO David Murphy addressed the 600+ honor's delegation, his speach emphasizing the important of service and literacy.  He highlighted his recent experiences in Africa, and demonstrated how running a book drive makes a tremendous impact.

Over 85 Golden Key chapters worked with BWB in '05-06.  We'll be announcing chapter scholarship winners shortly.  Here's a photo of '04-05 scholarship winner Anandi, from Hunter College, and myself during the conference.

During the 2006 American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans, volunteers worked to sort and pack books donated to New Orleans Public Library from around the country.  These books were then shipped to our warehouse and are being sold online to help Rebuild NOPL.

Here's an excerpt from an article in ALA's American Libraries Online...

Better World Books Takes on the Sort
During the volunteer days, workers at the Algiers Regional Branch sorted through thousand of books that have been donated to New Orleans Public Library from across the country for addition to the library’s collection, distribution to local community groups, and resale. In an effort to alleviate the large quantities of donations NOPL has received since Hurricane Katrina, over 60 ALA volunteers spent two eight-hour days sorting and packing books at the Algiers branch.

Although the building did not flood, it suffered major roof damage. As a result, wind-driven rain entered the building, ruining its contents. The gutted branch is currently being used as a holding and sorting space for the thousands of book donations sent to NOPL from around the world. Of the estimated 500,000 books, almost 25,000 books were sorted, packed, and shipped to Better World Books, which will process and sell the books in over 14 online marketplaces, returning a percentage of the proceeds to NOPL. As of March 31, Better World Books had donated $4,923 to NOPL, generated from other donations that were redirected and listed for sale. In lieu of further book donations, potential donors are being asked to participate in ALA’s Adopt-a-Library program. See www.ala.org/katrina for for information.

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Congratulations Better World Books!!! We have recently hit a major milestone on two of our biggest web markets. Both Amazon.com and eBay are now reporting that BWB has served over 100,000 unique customers that have left positive feedback. This is a big accomplishment and is a reflection of our status as a serious and successful internet bookseller. Great Job Better World Books!!!

We are getting ready to head into the fall book drive season as many students begin to return to campus.  Get in contact with your regional director as soon as possible to get your group registered for the drive.  We need your help as much as ever!

This week we received some staggering literacy statistics from the National Center for Family Literacy. Two of the most impressive are:

• 61% of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children (McQuillan, Jeff. "The Literacy Crisis: False Claims, Real Solutions." 1998.)
• More than 40 percent of U.S. adults at the lowest level of literacy live below the poverty line. Only four percent of adults with strong literacy skills live in poverty.

Your books make a difference.