It's a Busy, Busy Day!

Today is a busy day for literature – it’s William Shakespeare’s birthday, World Book Day as designated by UNESCO and Adopt a Library Day!  So where do I begin?
William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564, so many historians believe he would have been born a few days before, some suggesting that April 243rd is the Bard’s birthday.  If you’re looking for more information about this poet and playwright, check out the Folger Shakespeare Library!
Today is World Book Day, not this World Book Day, but this one!  Today is considered “World Book and Copyright Day” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).  “On World Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO invites all women and men to rally around books and all those who write and produce books.”  This initiative is also supported by the International Publishers Association, the International Booksellers Federation and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.
And finally, today is also Adopt a Library Day created by Lynn Gaubatz, a classical musician trying to aggregate a list of places that want and need gently used, donated books.  The thought behind this organization is to provide books to people in need and I love the idea of sharing literature.  It’s difficult as a library sometimes to accept donations.  We receive a lot of books and it does take time to go through bags and boxes to review everything and decide what to do with them.  In our library, we accept only children’s books and if they can, they will be added to our collection, otherwise they are added to our Used Book Sale of which benefits library programming.  I’ll be honest, we get a lot of stuff – moldy, dirty books, books that have been scribbled in, water damaged and more.  It’s not often that we receive books that can be added to the collection – usually these are popular series books that we could use additional copies of or have been read once by a child and are in almost pristine condition – like I said, it doesn’t happen very often.  But, if there are libraries and other organizations out there that can use these books, then that’s great.
Some people do have to realize that many libraries are short on space and cannot add all the books they want to.  They also don’t want to be adding outdated, incorrect books to the collection either.  If you have books to donate, call your local library to check their policy and if they don’t accept books, try calling a local thrift store, Goodwill or Salvation Army.  These organizations also collect donated books.  And if you’re looking for an company/organization that’s promoting literacy and keeping an eye on their own carbon footprint, check out Better World Books, where we send many of weeded books to keep them out of landfills!