RIP WBN?

I am sure many of you have heard already, but World Book Night US announced that they were suspending operations.  The BPL and RA for All have both been HUGE proponents and supports of WBN and everything it stands for.

Click here to see all of my WBN related posts including many pictures of us giving away books.

From the Publisher's Weekly story:

After a three year effort, World Book Night officials said this morning they are suspending its operations. In a statement, executive director Carl Lennertz cited lack of outside funding as the main reason for ending the book-giving project. 

"The expenses of running World Book Night U.S., even given the significant financial and time commitment from publishers, writers, booksellers, librarians, printers, distributors, and shippers, are too high to sustain without additional outside funding," Lennertz wrote. 

Lennertz noted that attempts to secure outside grants did not meet with success. "There are a lot of other worthy causes out there, and only so much money available," he said. 

This past April, WBN volunteers gave away about 500,000 copies of books and, although the program generated a good bit of local media attention, its impact on book sales was difficult to quantify. "For us here at World Book Night, this experience has been life-changing, as it has been for the givers and recipients of the books," Lennertz said. 

According to Lennertz, the WBN staff will stay on without pay through early September to maintain social media contact with the givers, and to announce the winners of the giver essay contest. 

WBN U.S. chairman, and Hachette Book Group CEO, Michael Pietsch thanked the WBN U.S. staff and Lennertz for their service. “The World Book Night Board joins me in extending their deep gratitude to all who have taken part, and to Carl Lennertz for his inspiring leadership,” Pietsch said in a statement.

You can click here, here and here for more reports on this news.

I am very sad to pass on this news.  I have been "all in" on WBN for all three years.  For goodness sake, we had t-shirts made!   I am hoping that this announcement is temporary, hence the question mark in the title above. Please, please someone who loves books and reading and has some spare money lying around [*cough* *cough* James Patterson] donate some money to WBN right now and save this great program.

WBN 2014: The Morning After Report

Did you participate in World Book Night yesterday?  Did someone approach you and give you a book?

Here's a quick recap of how things went from a world-wide perspective [#WBN2014]:

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As I mentioned here, I gave books away outside my kid's school.  I got there before school let out and was able to hand out books to many of the parents waiting there.  Here are some highlights:

Even the parent hiding in the car got approached

Can't forget the crossing guard.
He was super excited to get a book

Me with the book in full WBN garb

My friend wanted the back of the shirt captured too

Overall, for me it went great.  As I approached people I said something to the effect of:

I am a parent here at the school, I am not a stalker. [I literally said this to people I didn't know; those who know me knew I really am a little bit of a book stalker.]  It is World Book Night and I am an official giver.  I have a free book for you, no strings attached.  It is an award winning, YA-Adult appropriate historical novel set during WWII.  If you want to know more about World Book Night, you can look inside for info.  Enjoy!

The reaction?  Much like last year.  Lots of "Oh my goodness, this is great." And, "Wow, this is happening everywhere?" And, "How cool?"

The kicker for me was watching the parents tell the kids about book that was in their hands and how they got it as the kids came out of school and were being taken home.  That made me ever happier.  I not only got to spread the love of reading, but I also got families to talk about World Book Night.  A conversation about books and reading was happening at that very moment because of me! Yay!

Feel free to share your stories or pictures with me.  Leave links to your Tweets and such in the comments if you want.

Editors Note: From this point on you will find additions to the original post

From Kristen BPL Reference:

 Wearing my World Book Night I'm a Book Giver stickers! #WBN2014!
I gave out Where'd You Go Bernadette in Berwyn IL at 8:10 am.
#SpreadTheLoveOfReading 

From Verna BPL Reference: Shots of her book and box

From Betty: "I posted some photos and comments to the Berwyn Library Facebook page, but here is one picture my husband took of me at the train station:"

And finally, click here for Alena's [super patron, not staff] post about her pub crawl with Kathy, Jose and Crystal.  Here is a teaser photo of how it went for them:

Click through for the full story.

Monday Discussion: World Book Night Is Coming

Today's discussion is for the sole purpose of promoting your WBN activities.

World Book Night is always on April 23rd, which falls on a Wednesday this year.

Click here for the official word from the people who work so hard to make World Book Night Possible.

For the Monday Discussion today, please use the comments to share your book and where you will giving it out.

Click here for a list of every book that is being given out this year.  You can click on the cover to see more about the specific book and the author.

I will be at the SW corner of Cossitt Ave and Madison Ave in La Grange  from 2:15 until I run out of books giving out Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.  I picked this location because it is the perfect spot to hand out my book, an award winning teen title with adult cross over.  At this location I will be by the elementary school as large numbers of high schoolers will walk by me and parents wait for their younger kids to get out of school. It is perfect!

Courtesy of a team of people here at the BPL, but mostly because Jose coordinated and made sure it got done, I will also have an annotated list of 3 readalikes on a book mark inside each book.  Every giver who picked up a box at the BPL was also given a stock of these created for their specific title.

So no matter where you live, share your WBN love by at least leaving the title you will be handing out even if you are not sure of (or don't want to share) the location.  IT is going to be a wonderful day of spreading the love of reading.

For past Monday Discussions, click here.

World Book Night is Only 20 Days Away!

This week, Kathy and I wore our fabulous World Book Night T-shirts to our monthly Trivia Night for the BPL. Although we knew it was too late to recruit other givers, we wore them to begin the process of explaining World Book Night to the community and to start the conversation.

In case you don’t know what World Book Night is yourself, click here to see exactly how we spread the love of reading from person to person on April 23rd every year.

Here is my full recap, with pictures [including of the aforementioned t-shirts] of how things went on April 23rd, 2013 for last year’s World Book Night.

Personally, I have been a giver since the US World Book Night began.  As a staff, we have 10 volunteers who signed up to be givers this year, and our library is an official pick-up location for givers throughout our community.  So as a team, The BPL is doing quite a bit to spread the love of reading and encourage a community conversation about books and reading.

But even if your library is not a pick-up location and/or you don’t know any givers yourself, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t jump on the World Book Night bandwagon. I mean the entire night is built for libraries to take advantage of in order to promote themselves, whether or not you are officially involved.

Right now the team over at WBN has begun to promote the day and its purpose like crazy.  Go here to see a list of kick off events.  And, click here to read about Amy Poehler signing on to be the honorary chairperson of WBN. These are just 2 examples.  The WBN team is doing to work of putting the importance of books and reading into the mass media spotlight for you...TAKE ADVANTAGE!

Help carry this buzz into the walls of your particular library by posting signs about WBN; you can click here for promotional materials like posters, proclamations, etc...  Even if you are not physically participating in the event, you are working at a library, so it behooves you to use the buzz to your advantage.  The library is a natural place to talk about books, reading, and events that surround these topics. And they have done all the PR and Marketing work for you.

Go to the WBN official site and educate yourself on the event. Talk to people about it.  Try to find out if there are givers signed up in your community.  One of the best ways to do that is to find the pick-up locations (libraries or bookstores) nearest to your location.  Contact them and see if you can help them distribute books.  You will find out who the book lovers in your area are and then engage them in conversation.  Talk to them about books and book promotion.  Get their contact info for future programs and promotions at your library.

One of the reasons we wanted to be a pickup site at the BPL was to gather this exact data about the biggest “book people” in our service area.  By being a pick-up location, we have their names, we see them as they get their books, and we can develop a relationship with these uber-readers.  Strengthening your ties and relationships with book supporters can only help your library in the long run.

So get involved with World Book Night.  You still have 20 days.  It is not too late to spread the love of reading person to person.  Heck, it’s never too late; I do it each and every day!

World Book Night Givers Announced: Share Your Title Here

World Book Night is going into full preparation mode now.  Last night, I got my official email that I was accepted to be a giver again.  Click here for my past 2 years of World Book Night exploits.

I can't remember what books I asked for but I am happy to have been assigned, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.

Jose told me he got Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

There are a few more BPLers who will be givers.  We will mix up our books so that we have a wider selection to hand out at our various locations.

I would also like to remind readers that once again The Berwyn Public Library is an official World Book Night pick up location.  Jose also happens to be our point person for the distribution too.

If you got your giver letter yesterday, share what title you got here in the comments to help spread to joy of books and reading!

World Book Night 2014 Titles Announced

Click here to see the books.

I already signed up to participate again.

What are you waiting for?

Click here for my reports, including pictures, of past year's events.

World Book Night 2013 Recap...With Pictures! [UPDATED 4/25]

Well last night I had a great time passing out books at Meijer in Berwyn.  Click here for the details on what books I had.

I do want to give a big thanks to Marsha, the Store Director at Meijer in Berwyn who is a big supporter of the library.  Also, we are very pleased in Berwyn to be the site of one of their first urban stores. Their presence has brought jobs and helped to revitalize the historic Cermak Plaza.

The celebrations began at the BPL at 4:30pm when our fearless leader, Kathy came to distribute our official book giver shirts with the logo on the front and "Book Giver" on the back.  (see me wearing it in the picture below)

I forgot to get a picture of the team, but I went off to Meijer and then another group of four was going to divide and conquer at the commuter rail station.

At a little after 5, I went into the Meijer store, checked in at the customer service desk and got to work spreading my love of books by handing out FREE BOOKS (no strings attached) to shoppers and workers.  Everyone was so nice and appreciative.  It only took me 12 minutes to hand out 25 books!!!!

May people even agreed to have their photos taken with their books.  And I had an employee snap a shot of me too.  They are all embedded below.

But before I conclude this post, I want to say what a great event World Book Night is.  It takes a lot of planning and is run completely on donations.  I hope it continues.  I am proud to have been involved with it since its inception.  Please consider becoming a giver yourself next year.

Even in the "Express Lane" people stopped to take a book

Me in action!

As promised, here are the pictures of BPLers Kathy, Jose and Crystal in the shirts we had made, modeling front and back.

Monday Discussion: What Are You Doing on World Book Night?

I can't believe it is here.  World Book Night is tomorrow. If you are unfamiliar with the event, go here for more information. But here's the short version.  World Book Night is sponsored by the major publishers and the ALA to have a day where people who love books go out into their communities, in mass, and give out books to anyone and everyone, no strings attached. Here is the full list of books that will be given away this year.

Many readers of the blog are involved with the event whether they are a pick-up location for givers or are givers themselves. So for today's Monday Discussion I thought I would give you all a chance to talk about what you are doing to celebrate tomorrow.

Here's my details.  I got the official okay from Marsha, the store manager at Berwyn's wonderful new Meijer store, to give away books at their location, inside the store, from  5-7 tomorrow night. I will be just inside the store giving away 10 copies of City of Thieves by David Benioff, my first choice, I swapped the other 10 copies with Jose for 10 copies of Looking for Alaska by John Green.  I also have 5 copies of Montana Sky by Nora Roberts because since the BPL was a pickup location for Givers, we were given some extra books. So I have 25 books with a wide range of appeal.

Team BPL also got shirts to wear as we spread out across Berwyn and give out books.

I am so excited to be a part of World Book Night for another year. As it says on the official sign, seen here at the top of the post, World Book Night is all about sharing the love of reading, spreading the joy of books, and celebrating the wonder of stories.  This is my passion, my life's work, and my personal joy.  To be a part of such a great event is a dream come true. I will take some pictures tomorrow night and post them on the blog Wednesday.

Now it's your turn.  Share your plan for World Book Night tomorrow.  How are you celebrating?

For past Monday Discussions click here.

World Book Night: My Title and Where To Get Your Books

Over the weekend, I was notified that the title I was assigned to give out on World Book Night is my first choice-- City of Thieves by David Bennioff.  Back from my original review in October of 2008:

I also read another historical fiction with some adventure elements and a similar title, but with a completely different setting and tone. City of Thieves by David Benioff is a WWII drama. St. Petersberg (or Pitter as its residents refer to it) is under siege by the Nazis and Lev, the son of a poet (and victim of Stalin) is literally starving while protecting his beloved Pitter. One evening he is caught out after curfew, thrown in jail, and awaiting his punishment...death. In his cell, Lev meets an army deserter and university student named Kolya. The two are offered a reprieve by the Colonel if they can locate a dozen eggs for his daughter's wedding cake in less than a week's time. The boys set out into the wild streets of Pitter, and eventually slip behind German lines. Along the way, as Lev narrates, the two form a true friendship, meet many interesting people, and come to understand the beauty and horrors of war.

You can click through to see readalikes from back then.  Also, use this link to see all of the times I have mentioned City of Thieves since 2008 (hint, its a lot).  It has become one of my favorite, sure bet, go-to titles over the years.  I have even featured it on the Browsers Corner.

Jose, who works in Circ and runs our popular Decidedly Dystopian Book Club, also got his first choice, Looking for Alaska by John Green.

That's the giver side of the World Book Night equation, but here at the BPL we have news on the distribution side of the evening.  We are an official pick-up location for givers!  So if you are a giver and live in our area, choose the Berwyn Public Library as your pick-up location.  We'd love to meet you.

World Book Night is Just Around the Corner

Click here for details!

I can't believe it, but the second annual US participation in World Book Night is just around the corner.  How do I know?  Yesterday I got my official notice that I was accepted as a giver again this year.

So were a few other people at the library (employees and patrons). Like last year we tried to all request different books and then agreed to pool our resources, mix up giveaway boxes of a few different tiles, and then spread out across Berwyn to hand out books.

We will not know the title we have each been given for a few more days, but it really doesn't matter.  Last year we had 3 different titles and people were so happy to be offered a free book.

World Book Night is great PR for reading, for book publishing, and for the library.  But you know me, I'm all about the library, so that's where I will focus right now.

Although at the BPL we do a great job bringing the library to the people with things like Book Lover's Club, Trivia Night, school visits, and appearances at all major city festivals, there is no better way to promote the library, its services, and its awesome staff (I will not apologize for saying so myself) then by going to people where they already are going about their lives (the grocery store, the train station, the YMCA, etc...) and simply handing them a book...for free...no strings attached!

Like you saw in yesterday's post, while people expect more than just books from the library, 80% still feel that books are VERY IMPORTANT.  Books are our brand.  It is what people first think of when they hear the word library.  To be able to leave the building and get out into the community to spread this core message at no extra cost to us is an invaluable opportunity to promote ourselves along with reading.

Here's a quote from World Book Night's own page entitled, Why is World Book Night Important?:

Why does World Book Night exist? Reading for pleasure improves literacy, actively engaging emerging readers in their desire to read. Reading changes lives, improves employability, social interaction, enfranchisement, and can have a positive effect on mental health and happiness. Book readers are more likely to participate in positive activities such as volunteering, attending cultural events, and even physical exercise. 

Or more simply put, books are fun—and they can be life-changing.

Ahh, music to my ears.  This statement is my life's work. Even I have days when I question the "importance" of my professional life devoted to leisure reading.  I am equally as trained to be a hard core reference librarian. [I was a law librarian for three years before finishing my Masters degree.] Some may say this is a "higher" job.  But I say NO.  Statements like the one above (which is footnoted to a study here) remind me that what I do-- what all of you do-- is vital to American society.  I help to create happier, healthier, and more involved citizens.  And I get to do it with books!  It's a dream come true.

So thank you World Book Night from me, from my patrons, and from those unsuspecting people who I will be encountering on the evening of April 23, 2013. I am honored and excited to be part of such a wonderful celebration of the life-changing nature of books.


You can click here for all of the World Book Night details.  And I will have updates on the titles we will be giving out and the locations where we will be soon here on RA for All.

World Book Night Recap

So we had a successful World Book Night here at the BPL.  I was unable to go hand the books myself due to family obligations, but our fearless leader, Kathy and Jose from Circulation, along with 2 patrons hit the Depot District to hand out books.

One of those patrons, Alena, has her own blog and posted this great recap of how the night went, along with pictures.

It was a great night of handing out free books to people.

Thanks to all those out there who participated.

Leave a comment and let me know how your World Book Night went.

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.

Hunger Games Day: Resources for Readers and Movie Goers

As if you didn't already know, but the much anticipated Hunger Games movie opens today; actually last night at midnight in some places.

To better help you to serve your excited patrons, I have gathered my past Hunger Games posts here for you today.

But first, here is some news I have been saving for this exact day.  As I mentioned here, I signed the BPL up to be a book giver on World Book Night.  The process involved proving you would give the books out (easy for us, since we are a library and already do that every single day) and submitting a wish list of three titles from their list that you would be willing to hand out.

Well, on a hope and a prayer, knowing the Hunger Games movie would be out only a month before World Book Night, I made The Hunger Games my first choice.  Here is an excerpt from the acceptance email I received on 2/28:

First of all, we're delighted to confirm that the book you'll be giving away on April 23 is Hunger Games. We hope you're happy with it even if it isn't your first choice and that you are still excited to participate in World Book Night.

Oh yes, I was happy.

So it is official, the BPL will be out in the community giving out The Hunger Games on the evening of 4/23.  We had some patrons also sign up to be givers of different titles.  Closer to the actual date of World Book Night, I will have a schedule of where you can find us and which titles we will be handing out.

But, while you wait for World Book Night to come around, you have to deal with the hoards of patrons who want to read the book or already have read all three and want readalikes.  Thankfully, my students have done the leg work on this already.

Please go to Gennie's Hunger Games readalikes list here or Christi's fabulous Hunger Games reading map here.  Between these two resources you will be able to satisfy your Katniss crazy patrons.

One final note, it is days like today when I am so happy to be a RA librarian.  It feels like the entire world is going crazy over a book.  It is a dream come true.

World Book Night Titles Announced!

I have only mentioned it briefly before this, but April 23, 2012 is World Book Night.  From their official website:

World Book Night is an annual celebration designed to spread a love of reading and books. To be held in the U.S. as well as the U.K. and Ireland on April 23, 2012. It will see tens of thousands of people go out into their communities to spread the joy and love of reading by giving out free World Book Night paperbacks.

Yesterday, the organizers released the 30 books that will be offered for giveaway in the United States.  They are (in alphabetical by author):

• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak)
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Ballantine)
• Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger (Da Capo)
• Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (Beacon Press)
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Tor)
• Little Bee by Chris Cleave (Simon & Schuster)
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
• Blood Work by Michael Connelly (Grand Central)
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (Riverhead); a Spanish-language edition, La breve y maravillosa vida de Óscar Wao (Vintage Espanol), will also be made available.
• Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick)
• Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (Vintage)
• Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (Grove Atlantic)
• A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (Algonquin)
• Q Is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (Berkley)
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead)
• A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (Ballantine)
• The Stand by Stephen King (Anchor)
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (Perennial)
• The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (W.W. Norton)
• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner)
• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (Mariner)
• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (Perennial)
• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (Atria)
• Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (Picador)
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Back Bay)
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Broadway)
• Just Kids by Patti Smith (Ecco)
• The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (Scribner)
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Knopf Books for Young Readers)

Click here to read more about how the books were chosen.

Readers of RA for All, it is time for us to unite! I would love for you all to participate in some way.   Anyone can sign up to be a book giver.  If you work at a library or school, the organizers ask that you simply note that in your comments field.  Click here to start the process.  You will be allowed to choose your top three titles and will have to explain why you want to be a part of the this wonderful event.  But honestly, if you chose to read RA for All, that explanation should be easy for you.

I just signed the BPL up to be a giver.  Please join us in this wonderful global event to celebrate the power of reading.  They are trying to get 500,000 people signed up to give away a million free books by February 1, and all you have to do it click here to be a part of it all.

I have started a new tag, "world book night" under which I will be compiling any news about this event in the coming months.