column by Deb Robertson

Caring for creation is the theme we are all working to embrace during this year at Briar Cliff University. I would like to share with you an exciting partnership that we have committed to through the Bishop Mueller Library. Caring for our less fortunate brothers and sisters in Africa with donated books that would otherwise be destined for the landfill is only the beginning. Here’s the rest of the story…

 In 2002, three friends from the University of Notre Dame began selling their used textbooks online to earn some money and ended up forming the “pioneering social enterprise—with a mission to promote literacy,” now known as Better World Books. “Building a better world one book at a time” was a July, 2009 headline from a CNN story about this socially and environmentally friendly bookstore with a soul. Better World Books collects books and sells them online to fund literacy initiatives worldwide. With more than six million new and used titles in stock, they are a self-sustaining, triple-bottom-line company that creates social, economic, and environmental value for all their stakeholders.

 The Bishop Mueller Library has joined Better World Books in their efforts to meet the needs of literacy partners around the world, and we are inviting you to join us. This partnership not only delivers books to children who do not have them, it also keeps thousands of books out of landfills every year. All of this is without cost to the BCU library. This partnership could not be a more perfect fit for BC-YOU!

 Here is how it works: After entering into a formal agreement with Better World Books, Bishop Mueller Library now has access to a proprietary database where we are able to enter the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) from books and the system will tell us if the company can accept the book or if we should keep it. As we withdraw titles from the library collection we check this database to see if we can send it to Better World Books for resale or to be donated directly to our literacy partner, Books for Africa.

 According to Patrick Plonski, executive director of Books for Africa, the need is great. “In many African villages, seven children share one book. Some village schools own no books whatsoever.” Through our partnership with Better World Books our literacy partner receives the books they desperately need.

 Here is how you can help. The library will be hosting a Book Drive for Better Lives event to coincide with book buyback February 17 – 19, 2010. After checking with the book-buying agent at the bookstore to see if they will purchase your used textbooks, you will be able to donate any unsold books into the Better World Books collection boxes. The library staff will scan the Better World Books database to see if the donations received are acceptable for shipment to Africa or for the online bookstore. Who says you can’t change the world with that used textbook?

 After our donations have been shipped and processed by Better World Books, any titles we have added to the online bookstore will be available for purchase. Simply go to http://www.betterworldbooks.com/, scroll down to the “Online Sidewalk Sale,” enter our zip code, and browse the titles that Books for Africa and our own library could profit from if purchased. Remember, these may be weeded library holdings, duplicate donations we could not use, or titles that did not fit our collection. Books are also donated from publishing companies, libraries, and other book vendors, so not everything sold here is used. But, everything sold here has been saved from the landfills. Doesn’t that make you want to put Better World Books at the top of your favorites list?

 While you are at their website, you will see counters tallying the funds that have been raised for their global literacy partners and the number of books saved from landfills. These are very impressive numbers and you are invited to do your part. Remember, from now on, before you toss a book in the dumpster stop by the library and ask us to check to see if it could be donated to help Care for Creation.