World Book Night 2013: The Gift of Books

Yesterday, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, Armacost Library held a reception for WBN 2013 book givers who chose our library as a pick-up location for their books. We shared our book-giving plans and locations. WBN is about spreading the love of reading, person to person. This year, WBN wants to hear more from book recipients. Book givers are encouraged to include a contact sheet in each book that will help recipients tell their stories. We want to hear about the experiences of both book givers and book recipients. Please contact me or any of the other librarians at Armacost Library about publishing your stories on Armacost Library’s blog.

Melissa I. Cardenas-Dow

Outreach/Behavioral Sciences Librarian
Armacost Library, University of Redlands
909.748.8089
Melissa_Cardenasdow@redlands.edu

World Book Night 2013 display at Armacost Library, courtesy of Denise Cline

World Book Night 2013 books

Expressing Soul Through World Book Night

The deadline for World Book Night book giver applications is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, January 25, 2013. Armacost Library is a pick-up location for World Book Night 2013.

My decision to become a World Book Night book giver was not a difficult one to make. I am a librarian, after all. The hard part came in choosing which book titles to give, at which location to distribute books, and in saying why. Much like selecting a gift, I selected my book title as a means of demonstrating my hopes, dreams, and wishes for the receiver.

But in 2012, this was an easy decision to make. Among WBN’s titles was Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The book is one of my favorite texts. At the time I needed to decide which books to select, it had been on my mind because I had just finished organizing University of Redlands’ first Banned Books Week read-out. A reader chose to read out loud from The Absolutely True Diary. If no one had chosen to read from the book, I was prepared to do so.

I originally wanted to give out The Absolutely True Diary at a local senior center in Redlands, California. I thought seniors could benefit greatly from the truths within its pages, despite the book's young-adult intended audience. This is what I wrote in my 2012 WBN book giver application, so I was fairly comfortable with my decision. But after more thought and reflection, I went to Micah House and the Redlands Community Center and gave books to youth and teens I found there. My change of heart stirred after I talked to my oldest daughter about a shooting that occurred in our neighborhood in early 2011. My decision became set after I reread Sherman Alexie’s Wall Street Journal article on young adult literature. I sought the article out after a chance conversation with a friend. In the article, Alexie states, “I write to give them [teenagers] weapons—in the form of words and ideas—that will help them fight their monsters.”  Alexie’s words resonated with something deep and strong inside me. Facilitating that sort of self-empowerment, through words and ideas, is what makes my career as a librarian a vocation.

For WBN 2013, I have chosen to give away Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth as my first choice. I will be returning to Micah House and, again, focusing my book giving on youth and teens. And, like last year, one of my greatest hopes and wishes is for young people to realize their own power, to find solace, comfort, and strength in words and ideas.


Melissa I. Cardenas-Dow
Outreach/Behavioral Sciences Librarian
Armacost Library, University of Redlands
909.748.8089
Melissa_Cardenasdow@redlands.edu

World Book Night USA 2013 extends giver deadline to January 25!

Armacost Library is again signed up to be a pick-up location for World Book Night USA (WBN-USA). This means givers can choose Armacost Library as a location to receive their free WBN books to give away.

What do you need to do to be a book giver through WBN? Select 3 books you have personally read, choose the location where you intend to distribute books, and submit an application through WBN’s official site by Friday, January 25, 2013.

This year, groups of 10 or more individuals are encouraged to send a single application by emailing a proposal at April23@WorldBookNight.org. Please include the following information in your group proposal:

1.       Top three book choices OR why you would like a selection of several titles.

2.       Where do you intend to give away the books?

3.       To whom do you intend to giveaway books to?

4.       Why do you want to give books away?

5.       Why do you want to give the books out as a group? How many givers are in your group?

Through WBN, book givers pledge to distribute books on April 23, 2013. For additional information about World Book Night, please contact Melissa Cardenas-Dow, Outreach Librarian, at Melissa_Cardenasdow@redlands.edu or 909-748-8089.

U.S. World Book Night 2013!

World Book Night 2013 has announced their book selection list and opened sign-ups for book givers. Visit the links to participate! Armacost Library will be a pick-up location for WBN 2013. This will be the second time Armacost Library will be participating as a pick-up location for book-givers. 2013 is also the second time WBN is being held in the United States.

Want to know more about World Book Night? Visit WBN's FAQ page. WBN 2013 is scheduled for April 23, 2013.

UPDATE: World Book Night 2013's book giver deadline has been extended to Friday, January 25! Be sure to submit your application to WBN.

World Book Night 2012 Giver Applic Deadline Extended to Monday, Feb. 6th!

There is still time to turn in an application to be a WBN book giver! Consider applying before the Feb. 6th midnight deadline.

For those who have already submitted an application, news of your status should arrive at the email address you provided shortly, if it hasn't arrived already. Be sure to check your spam folder. If you've recently submitted an application, hang tight. The WBN reviewers should get to your application really soon.

Around mid-February, you should receive another email asking you to select a pick-up bookstore or library. Armacost Library should be on that list!

For further assistance, please contact Melissa Cardenas-Dow at Armacost Library: 909.748.8089 or melissa_cardenasdow@redlands.edu.

Armacost Library Registered to be a Pick-Up Location for World Book Night-USA 2012

This year, World Book Night comes to the United States for the first time. Armacost Library is supporting this international effort to promote the love of reading. We signed up to be a pick-up location for community members of the University of Redlands and the City of Redlands. We hope faculty, students, staff and administrators of University of Redlands will sign-up to participate.

What is World Book Night?
WBN-USA is an international event that promotes literacy and the joys of reading among teens and adults. It is predicated on the idea of individual volunteers going out into their own communities and sharing copies of a text they had previously read and loved. Intended recipients of WBN editions are, ideally, new or light readers or individuals with limited access to books. WBN-USA book giver volunteers will receive 20 copies of a title they have selected. They will then pick up these books at a pick-up location they select and go out into their communities to distribute them on (or around) April 23rd. It will occur in the US, the UK, and Ireland on this same day.

Interested in volunteering to be a WBN giver?
Great! There is a sign-up process and some terms and conditions. Application sign-ups need to be submitted to WBN by February 1st. Notifications will go out in mid-February. April 23rd, the actual date volunteers go out to distribute books, falls during May term break for CAS students at University of Redlands. Because of this, here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind.

• Think about where you will be on April 23rd and plan to give out books in that city. You will be asked to provide a mailing and an email address in the online application. The mailing address will help WBN organizers optimize selecting possible pick-up locations for you to consider. The email address is needed to notify you if your application has been approved or not, which book title you will receive, and how to select your pick-up location. Of course, you can still select Armacost Library as your pick-up location and give out books in the city of Redlands before you travel.

• Think about where you will go to hand out books and why. You will also be asked questions about the location/s at which you intend to distribute books, to whom, and why. WBN will use the answers to these questions to select applicants. While community centers are great places to consider, WBN also suggests distributing books at coffee shops, bus stops, commuter trains, malls, churches, and  hospitals. Do select locations other than libraries.

• Select books that you have personally read already. WBN has a list of 30 titles from which would-be volunteers can choose 3 books. Should WBN choose you as a book giver, they will select one of the titles you indicated in your application and mail 20 copies of that title to your designated pick-up location. The point of the program is to enable givers to say to a giftee, “I read this book and I really loved it. I think you may enjoy it, too.”

• Attend the WBN party hosted by Campus Diversity & Inclusion and Armacost Library on April 16, 2012! This will be a good time for Redlands WBN givers to meet other givers, ask questions about WBN’s process, and pick up the books you have signed up to distribute on April 23rd. Exact location and time is yet to be determined. Light refreshments will be provided. Stay tuned!

Have questions? For more information, please visit the WBN-USA website or contact Melissa Cardenas-Dow at 909.748.8089.