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Good People Doing Good Things -- BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!
Books. Books are probably the single most important tool we have at our disposal to teach children, to help them grow into their future role in the world. From books they learn so much … history, different cultures, science, art, literature, and much, much more. Think back to your own childhood … what would it have been without books? Today we hear so much from politicians, religious leaders,…
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Good People Doing Good Things -- Larry Abrams
Good People Doing Good Things — Larry Abrams
Since this is Banned Books Week, what better than to find a ‘good people’ for this week who is providing books to young people rather than taking them away? And so, allow me to introduce you to Larry Abrams, a high school English teacher in Lindenwold, New Jersey. Lindenwold is what is referred to as an ‘under-resourced’ community, in other words many people there are living below the poverty…
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"The plan’s goal is for 90 percent of residents to be within 3 miles, or a 15-minute commute, of a library. Reaching that saturation could take 25 years, Price said. Along the way, residents will get a say in what these future libraries are like."
Nashville’s goal is to fill “library deserts,” places where residents don’t have access to public libraries, or even books in general. Hopefully more cities will follow their example in the near future.
Harry Potter Books Find an Adoring Home
Last week, Maggie, one of our neighbors, sent me a note. She said that at her nearby community garden there was a family with a young daughter who was a major Harry Potter fan. Knowing we might be able to help, Maggie wondered if we might have one or two of the books in the series to donate for a surprise??
Earlier this year we had a very successful Harry Potter Extravaganza Week. Leading up to the event we collected several copies of each of the books. Maggie was pleased to hear we had enough left to be able to put together a surprise book package with nearly brand new hardback copies of all 7 books!
Maggie thanked us heartily for the help and texted us a photo of the young girl (muggle or witch, I can’t tell?!) who’s happily caring for the books now. The whole experience was so heartwarming that I felt selfish not sharing it with all of our generous donors and patrons who not only help keep our neighborhood Little Free Library alive, but who also allow it to support the surrounding communities that are starving for literature as well.
Thanks again everyone!
Book Donations for a "Library on a Cart"?
Book Donations for a "Library on a Cart"? #Glendale #GlendaleLFL
Hello neighbors!
One of our former Adams Hill neighbors, who now lives in North Glendale, is a special education teacher at a school located in a “book desert.” She’s asked many of her friends for some help, and in addition to a few books of my own, I thought others here might have something for her as well.
Hey friends. Trying to build a “Library on a Cart” at the school where I teach and was…
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The travesty of book deserts Why are there are places in America where it’s almost impossible to buy or borrow a book?
Literary Injustice
A book desert. Like a food desert, a book desert is a place where:
affordable and nutritious [literature] is difficult to obtain, particularly for those without access to a [insert item of choice here: bookstore, cash flow, reading device, ...] (h/t wikipedia)
Don't let the digital age fool you—today's bookmarket climate allows the easy distribution and affordable pricing of current and selling titles. But what about backlist books, nonmainstream books, those needed in translation, those needed in electronically-readable and accessible editions? Those books are often harder to find and prohibitively expensive for those who stand to benefit from them most. Our climate creates the desert.
But the discrepancy runs deeper. Assess a cross-section of backlist books (choose a category) and you will find that the overwhelming majority of books subject to this desert(ing) climate are those by marginalized groups, women, and/or people of color, whereas their counterparts are more frequently passing into programs like print on demand and digital editioning that allow them to be sold and discounted in a manner that stays affordable, and therefore, effective.
Why aren't more books by WOC available digitally? They're at the bottom of someone's list to convert. "Too little time, not enough money", we are familiar with that refrain.
The list is descending based on perceived economy.
The list is descending based on platform.
I compiled a list of my favorite books, making sure to include teen favorites, books about the medical profession and topics that might speak to a kid growing up in a high-poverty neighborhood. When I gave him the list, he contemplated it with his usual care, made a small check mark next to the books that looked interesting, and looked up. “Where can I get them?” he asked. And that’s where our story stalls out. Because that’s when I realized that Xavier was living in a book desert.
Commentary: When our students are living in a book desert.
