Posted by Abby Rae LaCombe, Rocky Mountain Regional Director

Niko [Tomlinson, Midwest Senior Director] and I got to meet up with Dustin [Holland, Head of Acquisitions] and LPTZ (the Library Division) yesterday to see John Wood speak here in Minneapolis. It was really awesome. John Wood is a FUNNY guy, and handsome as heck, and he started Room to Read – very cool cat. Very sincere cat. He really believes in the mission of RTR. He was discussing the ultimate dreams of the organization and said that anywhere there is illiteracy is where Room to Read eventually wants to be. They are planning to expand farther into Africa this year and eventually, who knows, perhaps the whole globe will have RTR schools and libraries available.

Anyhoo, he gave a bunch of new RTR numbers that I thought I’d pass on. I think a lot of this is available through their website, but why fish in a lake when you can aim in a barrel?* Exactly.

Read the rest of the article after the jump.

By Will Eaton, Account Representative

Well, I have not read any good books lately but I had a great story told to me by a potential LPTZ client. At their local county library directors meeting, a fellow director got up in front of their colleagues to RAVE about this new Discards & Donations program that she had been introduced to. The statement made was “Hey, the program is free, they pay for your shipping, and all you have to do is scan a book and they tell you immediately if they can use it or not!!! It’s as simple as that”.

She also stated how books usually sold for 25 cents at the libray book sale, but with our program she stood to make a quarter more per book and support literacy at the same time. This library director was so excited that the potential client telling me this story said that she went on, and on, and on; which lets me know that word of mouth still remains by far the best marketing tool! By the way, the supporter of our program has not even signed up yet but is this excited based on a good conversation. YOU CANNOT BEAT THAT!!!

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

You may have noticed that for the first time since August when I took over this blog there's been a bit of a posting lull.  Two reasons come to mind: first of all, I'm traveling across the country by car with all my earthly possessions, from Boston to San Francisco.  Second, we're redesigning the new, totally awesome blog, that's going to launch (cross your fingers) next month.

On my trip, I've been to a number of fantastic places, including the St. Louis Arch, the Great Plains, Arches National Park and today the Grand Canyon.  Tomorrow I'll be going to the Hoover Dam and crashing in L.A. (anyone have a place to stay?).  In honor of this I thought I'd find some books about each of them because seriously, if you've never been, go to them!  Tomorrow's post will be chock full of great books about some of the landmarks that you should check out be you a visitor to the US or someone who lives here.  (The drive through the Rockies on I-70W is of the "life-changing" variety.  Unbelievable). 

Also, meeting the incredible people I've met, in diners, gas stations, national parks and on the road helps keep me even more in touch with our mission of simultaneously promoting global literacy while lining your bookshelf.

By the way, if you're traveling, may I suggest the "Lonely Planet" series.  They're funny when they need to be and well laid out.  I lived in Ireland and traveled around most of the countries in Europe and without my guides I would probably still be lost in Germany somewhere.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

Over at Lifehacker they have an awesome idea that solves two problems: first of all it gives you a place to keep all your books (from www.betterworld.com, natch) and if you're still hurting on your coolness, the storage technique is aptly known as "Invisble Floating Bookshelves."

Check out the instructional video and take a step towards a new hipper April.

Posted by Niko Tomlinson, Midwest Senior Director

Having worked with the Human Services Club at Dakota Wesleyan University
since the Spring of 2006 book drive (5 straight semesters, excellent
commitment to book drives and service!), I admit that I didn't know much
about the amazing work they were doing outside of the bookdrive.  I think
one of the more impressive things about many of the student groups we
partner with is that they not only put forth a great deal of energy and
passion into the book drives but also lend this commitment to their
communities, their schools and their fellow students.  I want to let amazing
deeds shine here because they are a great example of the impact student
organizations can have:

By Jacob Fu, Account Representative

So if you haven’t noticed, the Library Division has grown a significant amount in the past few months.  In fact, the entire Atlanta Office has really exploded and it’s been both exciting and overwhelming!

You can see the growth of the entire Atlanta Office in the Diagram below (keep in mind this does not include our massive warehouse in Indiana).

Having more people down here has really made the day-to-day work much livelier.  Just today, we had Fiesta Friday Potluck Lunch, which we would have never done before.  We even started a team for the Office Complex Softball League!

More importantly, it’s really given us the opportunity to pay more attention to all of the libraries we partner with!  It’s been such a significant change to have others to help manage all of our relationships and I hope that you all will benefit from that positive change.

On another note, anyone have any good stories from St. Patty’s Weekend?

Posted by Aaron King, Director

[This is Part Six of Aaron's "Campus Division in Cambodia" story. Here's Part Five and this is the final installment!]

Friday January 4, 2008

I think it can go without saying that we began our day with a delicious breakfast at the hotel. Our first stop today was to visit a couple of floating schools; schools actually on large boats in the river. Apparently as the seasons change, and the fishing areas change, and the level of the river changes, this school can be in several areas up and down the river. We were told that one challenge is that sometimes during the rainy season, some families will leave the village, and the students are unable to attend school.

Posted by Aaron King, Director

[This is Part Five of Aaron's "Campus Division in Cambodia" story. Here's Part Four and look out for the subsequent tales in the coming week...]

Thursday January 3, 2008

Believe it or not, we again began the day with a phenomenal breakfast. We met up with a few RTR staff, and then took a van out to see the first school. Upon entrance, all the students were lined up and clapping for us. Similar to the fanfare of our first night, this was quite humbling; these students were so appreciative of RTR, and I was left feeling like I hadn’t done enough.

Posted by Aaron King, Director

[This is Part Four of Aaron's "Campus Division in Cambodia" story. Here's Part Three and look out for the subsequent tales in the coming week...]

Tuesday January 1, 2008

5am felt more like the end of the night than the beginning of a day. Unfortunately, this was too early for the breakfast buffet, so we had to forgo it and instead have breakfast to go in a box. We drove and hiked out to the temples in almost complete darkness. To our surprise, there must have been hundreds of people out there making the trip to see the first sunrise of the New Year over the temple. When the sun rose up over the temple, and cast a reflection on the pool in front, it was quite astonishing. I cannot imagine a better way to ring in the New Year than the overall experience I had in Cambodia.