Abstract

Access to textbooks and other resources can be difficult not only for those in developing countries but also for low-income or incarcerated people in the United States. This effective practice highlights several organizations that collect and distribute new and used books. These resources were originally posted on the K12 S-L (service-learning) e-mail discussion list in July 2004, in response to Kristen Collier's inquiry about donating used textbooks.

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Issue

For many low-income students in the United States, for those who are incarcerated, and for those in developing countries, obtaining textbooks can be costly and/or difficult.

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Action

For those who wish to donate used books, the following is a list of organizations that either distribute them or use proceeds to fund other services to those in need:

Goodwill Industries accepts donated textbooks, workbooks, and library books and will generally pick up donations. Goodwill operates more than 1,900 retail stores to fund career training and employment programs that help people overcome barriers to employment and become independent, tax-paying members of their communities.
Website: http://www.goodwill.org

First Book is a national nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. The primary goal of First Book is to work with existing literacy programs to distribute new books to children who, for economic reasons, have little or no access to books.
Contact:
Kimberly Jessup, Director, College Outreach
First Book
1319 F St. NW, Suite #1000
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: (202) 393-1222 ext. 14
Fax: (202) 628-1258
Website: http://www.firstbook.org

Books for Africa collects, sorts, ships and distributes new and used books to children in Africa. Books donated by publishers, schools, libraries, individuals, and organizations are sorted and packed by volunteers who carefully choose books that are age and subject appropriate.
Contact:
253 East 4th Street
Saint Paul, MN 55101 USA
Phone: (651) 602-9844
Fax: (651) 602-9848
E-mail: bfa@booksforafrica.org
Website: http://www.booksforafrica.org

Books for the Barrios is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening elementary school education in the Philippines. While the Philippines has made strides toward improving its public education system, lack of material resources greatly limits the ability of teachers to teach and children to gain hands-on experience. Many of the schools to which Books for the Barrios offers assistance have only a handful of books, and school libraries are rare. In many cases, an entire class shares a single outdated, worn, and tattered book. For many children, including high school age students, books delivered by Books for the Barrios — modern books with color illustrations, charts and photos — are the first such books they have seen.
Contact:
2350 Ste. D Whitman Lane
Concord, CA. 94518
Phone: (925) 687-7701
Fax: (925) 387-8298
E-mail: joinus@booksforthebarrios.com
Website: http://www.booksforthebarrios.com

World Vision accepts large volumes of new only educational books and children's books.
Contact:
Reverend David High
6701 North Bryant
Oklahoma City, OK 73121
Phone: (405) 721-7417
Website: http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/give/gik-intro

The Global Book Exchange finds new homes locally and globally for used texts and library books. Working with Marin County youth, educators and service clubs, their goal is to promote education and literacy worldwide.
Contact:
Marilyn Levin Nemzer
Phone: (415) 435-5771
Website: http://bookexchange.marin.org

Books Through Bars sends quality reading material to prisoners and encourages creative dialogue on the criminal justice system, thereby educating those living inside and outside of prison walls. Founded by employees of New Society Publishers.
Contact:
Books Through Bars
4722 Baltimore Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19143
Phone: (215) 727-8170
E-mail: info@booksthroughbars.org
Website: http://www.booksthroughbars.org

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Context

Organizations that request and distribute used books range from those that primarily serve low-income families in the United States, to those that distribute books globally.

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Outcome

At Goodwill, 85 percent of revenues is funneled directly back into employment and training programs.

Since 2001, First Book has:

• Provided more than 20 million new books to children in need in hundreds of communities nationwide.
• Received an Angel Network Award in conjunction with the Oprah's Book Club selection The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.
• Established the First Book National Book Bank with partners from the Children's Book Council, the National School Supply and Equipment Association, and the United States Coast Guard. It is the first online centralized system allowing First Book's publishing partners to donate large quantities of new books to give to programs serving low-income children. The First Book National Book Bank hosts several book distribution events in cities throughout the country each year, giving local programs and national nonprofit partners the opportunity to receive bonus books for the children they serve.

Since 1988, Books for Africa has shipped more than 8 million books.

Books for the Barrios includes environmental education as part of the standard primary school curriculum in the Philippines and the United States, providing U.S. schools with an alternative to contributing to landfill, and students, faculty, and administrators to learn about and contribute to a humanitarian service project.

The Global Book Exchange has sent books to schools and libraries in over 30 countries.

In 2003, Books Through Bars:

• Sent more than 11,000 packages of books to individual prisoners in the United States.
• Sent approximately 50 boxes of books to prison libraries in various states.
• Sent 45 boxes of books to local halfway houses.
• Exhibited the "Contexts Collection of Artists in Prison" at Gallery X in New Bedford, MA, and at Pendle Hill Quaker Retreat Center and the Esther Klein Gallery in Philadelphia.
• Sponsored a variety of events, including: a book reading of Maryland prisoner Shaka N'Zinga's book with the Human Rights Coalition and the Pan-African Studies Community Education Program; a book signing with the Criminal Justice Department of the AFSC; a multimedia spoken word performance focused on the war on drugs in the U.S. and U.S. intervention in Colombia; and a public lecture and panel discussion by prison art scholar Phyllis Kornfeld.
• Hosted 29 large volunteer groups — offering a short presentation that situates their work in the context of prisoner education history and then engaging them in a concrete prisoner support activity. These groups include high school students, Quaker youth, Mormons, sorority sisters, prisoner family members, nonprofit professionals, German exchange students, and many more.
• Organized and hosted the first national conference of representatives of every existing prison book program in North America.
• Implemented new programs focused on Philadelphia public school youth. These include a workshop series that uses prisoner art as writing prompts, and a collaborative learning/writing project involving a Philadelphia public school English class and a group of Pennsylvania prisoners.
• Designed a research project to collect data focused on the ways in which self-educating prisoners are using dictionaries.

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For More Information

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Resources

The K12-SL e-mail discussion list is a forum for issues concerning the K-12 service-learning community. It is hosted by the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. Discussions generally involve project ideas, information requests, and current service-learning news.

Additional service-learning e-mail discussion lists are listed on the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse e-mail discussion list page.

Source Documents

Related Practices

• Finding free or inexpensive books

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