World Book Night

I will not have a Monday Discussion today because I wanted to promote World Book Night.

Here is the official World Book Night press release for givers as edited for the BPL specifically:

Who is helping to give out half a million free books all across America on one day? 

The Berwyn Public Library Is!

WHO: From Kodiak, Alaska, to Key West, Florida, in 6,000 towns and cities across America, 25,000 volunteers will give away half a million free books on one day: April 23, 2012.

WHAT: World Book Night U.S. is an ambitious campaign to personally give out thousands of free, specially printed books across America. Volunteer book lovers like myself will help promote reading by going into our communities and handing out free copies of a book we love to new or light readers, reaching them especially in underserved places – and even some fun spots. Volunteers will be picking up the books at a local bookstore or library in order to go out and share them in locations as diverse as VA hospitals, nursing homes, ballparks, mass transit, diners, and more.

We are very proud to be a part of the first World Book Night in the U.S., following the impressive launch of this campaign in the UK and Ireland last year.

On April 23, 2012 with 20 copies of The Hunger Games, 10 copies of The Kite Runner and 10 copies of Little Bee  we have a group who will be handing books out at the Metra Station from 5:30 until we run out.

For more information about World Book Night, please go to www.worldbooknight.org

How did we get 3 books to hand out?  Well, we asked to be a giver as the library and then a patron and her mother also signed up to be givers.  They traded half of their books to each other, giving us 3 titles to handout. 

If you live in Berwyn, look for our givers on the train platform this evening.  If you live anywhere in the US, please be on the look out for strangers giving away books.  If someone puts a book in your hand tonight, please take it.  If you don't want it, pass it on.

If you want to share information about your World Book Night Activities, please leave a comment on this post.

And to all the book lovers out there, enjoy this day to celebrate the power of a good read.  I hope it is successful and that we can do it again next year.  A special thanks to all of the sponsors for providing free copies of 500,000 books.