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Tips from the Bookdrive King!

Posted by King on 05.12.2008 at 9:55 am

When this company was in it’s youth there were 3 founders and their friend from Purdue who started book drives around the state of Indiana. Throwing books in the back of a van, that friend, Aaron King, is now a book drive General, managing the campus divisions 1500+ schools. Check back here for tips on how to make the most of your drive from the best in the business!

-Tip 1
-Tip 2

Without further ado, here is Tip #3:

For some of you finals just ended; for others, finals are just around the corner. In either case, I hope your book collection is in full swing.

And now, the moment you have been waiting for, tip #3.

TIP #3: CAPITALIZE ON END OF YEAR MOVE OUT!

Yes, the prime place to collect books is near or in the bookstore, to get every book that the bookstore cannot buy back. However, there are many books that just do not make it to the buyback that still get dumped in the trash when people clean out their rooms.

BOOK DRIVES THAT COORDINATE WITH THE END OF SEMESTER MOVE OUT HAVE INCREASED THEIR BOOKS BY 40%!

Forge an alliance with the Residence Halls, their directors, managers and RA’s. No one really wants to see books get thrown away. Some schools have had a lot of success having the RA’s have one final event for their students, which floor or which hall can accumulate the most books?
Reach out to Greek houses, Co-ops, or any other off campus housing properties; these areas are often neglected, but think about it: that senior moving out of his or her apartment for the last time probably has a lot of books they accumulated that they really are not going to want to lug around. Make it easy for them to donate to your book drive.
Contact your campus building services or facilities departments; if books tragically do end up in the trash, these departments are often burdened with hauling them around campus to their eventual demise at a recycling center or sadly, a landfill. They would gladly give books over to your book drive.

I hope that these strategies can help make sure that no books fall through the cracks and you are able to get as many books from your campus as possible. And remember, our Campus Acquisitions Team is here to make it as easy as possible for you to collect as many books as possible on your campus. Please contact us any time.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for Tip #4.

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, Aaron King, book drive, campus, king of book drives

RAVE reviews for the Library Discards and Donations Program!

Posted by admin on 03.24.2008 at 1:40 pm

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!!!

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, book drive, library

HSC at Dakota Wesleyan

Posted by admin on 03.17.2008 at 3:29 pm

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:

Hats, gloves, mittens and scarves from the Extremities Tree are donated to the SD Department of Social Services, represented by 1997 DWU human services graduate Laura Bruns. Pictured, from left to right, are Tiffany Hixon, Tami Pickart, Andrea Dalzell, Rachel Streeter, Nicole Krueger and Laura Bruns.

“Students do not have to be a human services major or minor to belong to the club. We have students from other majors who want to be involved in community service/education on areas of social concern and they find the club as a good organization to join.

Besides the areas mentioned on the webpage, last semester the club members assisted Toys for Tots by collecting toys at a basketball game and helping wrap presents before delivery to the families. We also helped assemble food baskets for families served by the Salvation Army, participated in the Take Back the Night Walk, helped bake and frost cupcakes for a volunteer recognition at the local domestic violence shelter (Mitchell Area Safehouse), and attended a conference on “Victim-Centered Care for Sexual Assault Patients.”

In the spring, the group is coordinating two donation drives: The Extremities Tree (we find much more success collecting hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, etc. at the end of winter when everything is on sale in the stores! We box it up and donate in the fall to the Department of Social Services, for distribution to foster children and other families in need) and a used cell phone collection. The cell phones (chargers and cords, also) are collected and donated to the Mitchell Area Safehouse, where they are given to individuals/victims who need to have at least 911 access. Other human service agencies in the area can also contact the Safehouse for cell phones if they have a client in need. Later on this semester we are attending a child abuse prevention conference and will be helping support a mission trip to Tanzania. The monies we receive from Better World Books in return for the donated textbooks are used for subsidizing the projects described!”

-Pam Boline, Faculty Advisor, HSC

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, book drive, campus, dakota wesleyan university, human services club

Plans for President’s/Presidents’ Day?

Posted by admin on 02.15.2008 at 12:42 pm

For those of you who care, and those of you who don’t, I am headed to Gainesville, FL for a relaxing weekend with my good friend and former colleague Patrick Kindregan. For those of you who do not know Patrick, he was the second employee of Better World Books Library Division, and he played an integral role in making the Discards & Donations Program the invaluable program that it is today. I would like to take this opportunity to ask all of you readers to post your favorite story about Patrick so that I may share them with him and his wife this weekend. Here’s mine:

It took place at the Charleston Acquisition Conference in 2006. We departed for Charleston , SC the morning the Conference began. We had given ourselves plenty of time to make the 6 hour drive, leaving time for a lunch break so that we didn’t eat all of the hors d’oeuvres during the Vendor Showcase. We decided to stop at one of those local grocers to grab a fresh made sandwich and some water for the Conference. Well, we all ordered our sandwiches, sat down to eat, and as Patrick bit into his sandwich…CRUNCH. We looked at him as his facial expressions changed from confused to a painful grimace; he had bitten into a toothpick that was holding his sandwich together! Once he collected himself, he looked at us, smiled, and to our surprise, he was missing half his front tooth! We laughed hysterically at our colleague’s misfortune for a few minutes, and then continued laughing for the remainder of the afternoon as we realized that he would have to work the Vendor Showcase in this condition. Needless to say, we made sure that every person that stopped to visit our table noticed Patrick’s dental disaster. Fortunately (unfortunately), he was able to get his tooth fixed the next morning, but not without some goodhearted heckling throughout the evening.

Post your favorite story as a comment to this post and I will make sure that it is relived this weekend!

*Because Presidents Day is not the official name of the federal holiday, there is variation in how it is rendered. Both Presidents Day and Presidents’ Day are today common, and both are considered correct by dictionaries and usage manuals.

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, book drive, happy holidays!, library, Patrick Kindregan

Onondaga Community College PTK

Posted by admin on 01.09.2008 at 10:41 am

(Things are hoppin at OCC)

Onondaga’s Student Newspaper, The Overview, has a blog, which mentions the latest Phi Theta Kappa induction. I’d talk more about it but I’ll let the fine writers at OCC do the work:

Alpha Sigma Zeta, OCC’s local chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, inducted 85 new members on Oct 23, 2007. In a candlelight ceremony, members were honored for their academic achievements and service to their campus and community.

Kelly Insel, chapter secretary, had the honor of presenting checks to Elmwood Elementary School and Seymour Elementary School to purchase needed books and supplies.

*This money was earned through the Better World Books program in which members collected textbooks that were sent to Africa. For each book accepted into the program, the chapter was reimbursed money to be used in the local community.*

Debra Baehr, Elizabeth Bailey, Elaine Baker, Michael Balintfy, Andrew Borchik, Helene Brophy, Latoya Brown, Brittany Caprilozzi, Sarah Carlson, Karen Carnessali, Christa Carsten, Christina Catalfano, Melissa Ceresko, Jonah Cohen, Mert Coskan, Sean Cummings, David Currier, Amy Dederich, Caleb Defrees, Paul Dooley, Alexander Douglas, Emily Dwyer, Franciscalenae Egbuna, Christopher Ezomo, Justin Fabiny, Christine Finnemore, Megan Forman, Kimberly Germinio, Jacqueline Goletsas, Kevar Griffin, Shelby Hall-Lorenz, Peter Hawley, Machia Haynes, William Heuschneider, Lauren Jemola, Susan Johnson, Swaroop Joseph Varghese, Terea Killings, Jessica Kline, Melissa Krausnick, Craig Laduke, Katie Larock, Crystal Lauzau, Ashley LeClair, Debra Ledford-Prahl, Martha Lortie, Kimberly Lowe, Allison Masella, James McCampbell, Sarah McMichael, Jessica Milton, William Mitrus, Jason Myers, Timothy Olson, Kevin O’Toole, In Gi Park, Peter Paynter, Edward Perry, Nicholas Pikarsky, Kimmy Radell, Alison Randolph, Mike Robbins, Robert Rudeau, Dipendra Sah, Jacqueline Samora, Cadelyn Schmid, Alice Shaw, Denise Shuart, Josh Siddall, Deborah Silver, Thomas Sleeth, Staci Smith, Jill Stellmack, Sutida Sukkrasae, Andrew Swan, Margaret Swift, Timothy Szarek, Alexis Truskalo, Heather VanAlstine, Marina Vasquez, Lan Vo, Katharina Wesel, Janet Witter, David Youngentob, Jaime Zolfaghari

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, book drive, campus, onondaga community college, Phi Theta Kappa, press, SUNY, the overview

New Blog Dedicated to Collection and Development

Posted by admin on 01.08.2008 at 12:24 pm

This just in: Steven Harris, a Collection Development and Management Librarian at Utah State University, has created a new blog committed to…well, Collection and Development!

Collections 2.0.‘s main focus is to show “that library collections and collection development are still important in the networked environment, and [in] developing collections that mesh with Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 concepts to create the interactive and customizable library.”

Show your support and check out Steven’s new blog today!

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, book drive, library

Better World Books Becomes a Member of GRC

Posted by admin on 12.21.2007 at 12:35 pm

The Library Division is proud to announce that Better World Books is now a member of the Georgia Recycling Coalition! The mission of the GRC is to compliment and coordinate activities relative to recycling, to foster communication amongst professionals, organizations, government agencies and individuals and to promote and enhance waste reduction and recycling programs throughout the state.

We believe that the new relationship with the GRC will further enable BWB to connect with those who are as committed as we are to making a positive environmental impact.

Have your say » | Tagged Our Partners, book drive, library, Our Partners

Feature in AMSA’s New Physician Magazine

Posted by admin on 12.11.2007 at 11:11 am

In 2006 Sonia Sosa approached Better World Books about starting a book drive with AMSA (the American Medical Student Association) to support global literacy efforts in Africa through the non-for-profit organization, Books for Africa . At the ’06 National Convention this drive raised 500 books in just a few days. Michael A. Casey succeeded Sonia in her position and saw the opportunity to take her dream and build upon it. During the months to come he would turn her efforts into a nation wide book drive that spanned the country with drives at 28 schools and an additional 10,500 books collected. Thanks to all the books AMSA has collected Books for Africa can fund the shipment of 30,000 books to Africa , enough to fill 15 schools!

These book drives are truly making a difference in the lives of impoverished people. Books collected in a Better World Books /AMSA drive will either be sold to raise much-needed funding for Books for Africa , or they will be sent to their collection center for shipping overseas. Pat Plonski, Executive Director, Books for Africa , notes, “By increasing African literacy, we decrease African poverty. Every book donated by a student or a bookstore puts us that much closer to ending the African book famine.”

Better World Books has provided $3420 to AMSA chapters, and has allocated $1056.75 for a travel scholarship to Africa . The hope is to make improving literacy in Africa an everyday, every chapter effort that expands each year. With increasing book collections we hope to have a growth of this fellowship to fund not only travel but support promising students in their development of an on the ground literacy initiative in Africa.

To read the entire article pick up a copy of December’s New Physician Magazine or visit this link, www.amsa.org/chapoff/BWB.cfm

AMSA: It takes more than medical school to make a physician

Have your say » | Tagged Our Partners, American Medical Student Association, AMSA, book drive, campus, New Physician Magazine, Our Partners, press

Oklahoma University Book Drive

Posted by admin on 12.11.2007 at 10:14 am

Hey, if you live in Oklahoma, are a Sooners fan/alum or just really dig news about the Big XII, check out the following from The Norman Transcript:

Phi Alpha Theta, Zeta Theta chapter, will organize a campus textbook drive to benefit Worldfund, a nonprofit organization seeking to transform lives in Latin America through high quality education, between Monday and Jan. 9. The group will collect all textbooks and other college level texts published between 2001 and 2007.

An assessment by the U.S Agency for International Development reports that children in Latin America attend school an average of 5.4 years, stating that “the inferior quality of education impedes the ability of Latin America to move forward economically.”

Organizers of the Worldfund book drive will collect used college-level books in green-and-white “Book Drive” collection bins on the OU campus at Dale Hall, Dale Hall Tower, Ellison Hall, Gould Hall and the Fine Arts Building.

Thanking the University of Oklahoma community for its support, Worldfund Founder Luanne Zurlo said, “By donating your books to benefit Worldfund, you will help individuals gain the education they need to lift themselves out of poverty.”

In July 2006, Worldfund retained Better World Books as its premier agent to collect books on its behalf. Books collected for Worldfund will be sold online to generate a sustainable stream of unrestricted funding for the organization. Nationwide book drives since fall 2006 have raised $15,000 for Worldfund’s programs. For more information, visit Worldfund.

(Link to original article)

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, book drive, campus, Oklahoma, Oklahoma University, press

University of Guelph Drive

Posted by admin on 12.06.2007 at 9:44 am

To be one of the most successful drives every semester takes a level of commitment and ingenuity that any book drive participant will tell you is extraordinary. In Ontario there is such a book drive, at the University of Guelph. It started with a grad student named Mark Sun deciding to lead a Books for Africa drive and continues with uber-rep Ana Perkovic these days. As Ana chooses a successor for next year, I thought I’d better use her as a resource for as long as I can. First, the numbers:

Fall ’05 – 149 cartons (3,427 books)*
Spring ’06 – 284 cartons (6,532)
Fall ’06 – 109 cartons (2,507)
Spring ’07 – 116 cartons (2,668)

*based on average of 23 books per carton

So how have they had such success? I’ve never heard Ana say she was doing something incredibly out of the ordinary, per se, but instead they just know how to use the resources provided to them in an effective manner. Between

on a cold day (they get a few of those in Ontario) ”Give a book get a hot chocolate,” to
large banners created at the print shop to advertise in the student center to
a heavy advertising campaign with articles such as this in the campus e-bulletin and getting the word out to both teachers and students to
the much appreciated and helpful assistance of the wonderful folks at the University of Guelph bookstore to
painting the cannon on campus (apparently you can paint a large cannon and as long as someone hangs out at it then no one can paint over it until you leave) to
the very awesome idea of putting a sign on their backpacks that says “ASK ME ABOUT OUR BOOK DRIVE!” with the dates and locations on it to
a thermometer showing how many books they collected with a goal to
a donor appreciation day with a raffle to get people out to
well you get the picture, they get what they need to do!