Monday, November 30, 2009

The Dewey Tree

It seems as though everyone is in a little bit of a book funk lately. Whether you're feeling overwhelmed with review copies, overwhelmed with life, holidays, shopping, or just feeling a bit unfulfilled by what you've read lately, I understand where you're coming from! I haven't taken on recent pubs lately, instead planning for projects that will pub early next year. No worries. I'm here to look out for you. :-P

I've also taken a little bit of a break. Doing enough work not to let my clients down and using the additional time to immerse myself in some other projects. I'm a sewer (one who sews, not a channel for human waste. heteronyms = fun), so it's been purses and totes all over the place!

To get us through this, I thought about hosting a book swap, but I feel the problem is we're weighed
down with too many books. Not having enough to read doesn't appear to be the problem! So in the spirit of the giving season, why don't we clean some shelves out instead? I know it's difficult to give up your books, but think about the people who really need them.

As I write this, I think of a favorite blogger who passed away this time last year. Her spirit lives on in the Dewey Read-a-Thon, Weekly Geeks, and The Bookworms Carnival. She loved reading. She loved books. She supported Banned Books Week and believed everyone had the right to reading m
aterial. In her honor, I'm calling this donation project The Dewey Tree. It's a little bit The Giving Tree, a little bit Dewey, a little bit charity. :-D

Here's what you do:
*Gather up the books you can live witho
ut. It can be 4 books, 10 books, or 20 books!
*Find a worthy group you would like to donate your overflow books to. It can be your local library, a literacy campaign (mine will go to the literacy center I volunteer for), or overseas. There's a great list of book donation sites here on the ALA. Find a charity that speaks to you!
*Then take a picture of your donation and email it to me (onlinepublicist [AT] gmail [DOT] com). It can be a pic of the mailing label on your package, one of your kids giving a box of books to a
librarian, or you handing books over to your literacy center. Be creative and have fun!

I will accept pics (and will post favorites) until January 4, 2010. At that time, I will enter the names of all who sent donation pics into Random.org and choose three. ***AMENDED: PLEASE GO HERE TO ENTER FOR THE GIVEAWAY*** Those three winners will receive custom made totes from me! I will email you pics of my available fabric and have you build one you like. The pic above is of two I made recently.


And here is the official The Dewey Tree donation project button! Please help me spread the word (and the button!) to bring our book blogging community together in the spirit of spreading the love of reading.






"The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

32 comments:

Amy J said...

What a great idea! I will take a look at what I have to pass on to my local library! I already had a box of children's books that I have received for review and posted already. But I donated last week to my daughters preschool! Darn it I knew I needed a picture of it!

Vasilly said...

This is a great idea! Count me in.

April said...

This is such an awesome idea, Lisa! You rock! I had Hannah take a book to her classroom today that I bought extra of from Amazon, but don't have a picture. I think that I will round up several books around the house and do some donating - goodness knows we have enough to spare, lol. I LOVE your totes! You are the handy dandy crafty one, my friend!!

Deanna said...

Awesome idea Lisa! I am always looking for ways to create new interest in reading, especially in children. Will be rounding up some books this weekend and taking them to the library donation center!

Beth F said...

Oh boy, you caught me just in time. I have a stack of books to take the AAUW; they run a huge book sale every year and raise money for scholarships. I'll be sure to take a photo!

KyleeJ said...

What a great idea! Lisa, I will absolutely participate. I have quite a few books that I have been holding on to for 3yrs or more. I'm someone else would enjoy them!

Cheryl - Unadorned Book said...

I'll do this. Can I write "In Memory of Dewey" in all the books?

Alyce said...

This is a great idea! We just cleaned out our books last month to give to charity, so I won't be able to participate this time. (A local girl was collecting books for a women & children's shelter as her senior project in high school.) If you do this again sometime next year I'll try to participate though.

Irish said...

This is an excellent idea. And I LOVE Cheryl's suggestion of putting in "In Memory of Dewey" in the books. I think I might steal that idea if she doesn't mind. =)

vvb32 reads said...

great idea! love totes. been meaning to get to my sewing machine. you're inspiring me to get to it. got the super cool dewey tree button on my blog ;-D

Care said...

A glorious idea!

Lisa Roe said...

Thanks so much for the support, everyone!!

I've heard additional suggestions for donation sites: women's shelters, teen parent day care centers, military serving overseas, and nursing homes. Let me know if you have more!

Cheryl: writing in each book 'In Memory of Dewey' is such a fantastic idea. So incredibly thoughtful. If everyone likes this project, I will work on making it an annual event and have stickers made with The Dewey Tree image on it. Can you imagine going to your library, picking up a book, and seeing that in it? Awesome.

Bonnie Jacobs said...

Thanks for doing this, Lisa. I have put the button on my sidebar and written about The Dewey Tree on my blog today:

http://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2009/12/dewey-tree.html

I plan to donate some books to my local library and will send a photo when I do.

Jess said...

This is such an awesome idea! Count me in!
-Jess
(Find the Time to Read)

J.C. Montgomery said...

I too just recently donated a bag of books to my local library, but this is such a wonderful idea, I am going to go through the stacks again.

If not, I might attend the next library sale (Dec. 12) and buy a stack or two to donate to a local shelter.

Diane said...

This does sound like a beautiful thing in memory of Dewey. Although I just donated about 40 books a few months ago (to our library), I'm sure I can find another pile of 10 or so to donate. Thanks for coordinating such a wonderful thing.

Kristen said...

Great idea (and cute button)! I just donated a truckload of books to the Habitat for Humanity used bookstore/cafe last week but I have more that didn't fit in the boxes. I'll have to pack those up and snap a picture this time. :-)

Allison said...

Thank you for bringing this to my attention! I can't wait to post about it and participate!

A Buckeye Girl Reads said...

What a wonderful idea. I have some that I've been meaning to donate to my local library & see what other local charities take used books.

Cheryl Pitt said...

I blogged about it, hope the word spreads :)

http://unadorned-book.blogspot.com/2009/12/have-any-books-to-donate.html

Chrisbookarama said...

I'd love to help out but I just got rid of a pile!

Maybe I can gather up some old ARCs though.

I posted about this today.

Unknown said...

Wonderful idea. Please count me in.

Sam said...

Beautiful idea, I'm there. Thanks.

Helen's Book Blog said...

I posted about this on my blog and included a photo of the books I am donating to a local book drive

http://helensbookblog.blogspot.com

Sherrie said...

Hi!
This is an awesome idea!! I used your link to find a place to send some books. I have also posted about this at my place, Just Books. Have a great day!

Sherrie
Just Books

Marilu said...

What a wonderful idea! Count me in.
I am very new to blogging. I don't really have a great blog right now, and not many people will see it but I will post about this project.

Suzanne Yester said...

What a wonderful idea! And such a nice tribute to a Dewey who has inspired such a love of books among the blogging community!

I am sure I can find some books to donate! Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!

Suzanne
Chick with Books

melanie said...

I'm definitely in. This is a fabulous idea. I'm going to try to download the graphic and make my own stickers. Thanks so much!

Unknown said...

This is a great way to honor Dewey, and I LOVE your graphic. I regularly donate my books and magazines to a local hospital.

heather (errantdreams) said...

I'm so sorry it took me so long to post about this, Lisa; insomnia has made me fairly non-functional lately!

Beth F said...

I did take two bags of books to the AAUW this week, but forgot to take my camera. Thanks for hosting this.

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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