Publishers as Partners in Literacy

The New York Times discusses how publishers are assisting in literacy efforts.

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There is nothing about reducing the price of books that competes with promoting the use of libraries; these efforts are not mutually exclusive; they are complementary. What is important to note, however, is that new books can be particularly powerful, especially for children who don’t grow up taking books for granted. Elise from Jackson, Miss. (8), who teaches in a Title I school, observed: “While … used-book donations and swaps are great ways to increase access to books for low-income families, I do think there is something special about a brand-new book that kids, especially, get excited about.”

That’s the experience of Martha Bernadett, who founded the Molina Foundation, based in Los Angeles, which has distributed more than 2.5 million books — more than a million of which were acquired through First Book’s book bank and marketplace — to schools, libraries, hospitals, after school programs, and even local medical and dental clinics. “My parents taught me, ‘Don’t ask people to come to you. Go to where they are,’ ” explained Bernadett. The foundation switched from using book drives to using First Book because donations were so inefficient, and because low-income children responded so powerfully to new books.

“There is a self-worth issue that’s important,” says Bernadett. “When a child receives a new book, it not only creates a value for the book, but the recipient also feels more valued.” Bernadett suggested that it’s difficult for some Americans to appreciate the depths of poverty that persist in the country. She recalled meeting a young boy who had been given the Dr. Seuss book, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” and had fallen in love with it. “He asked if he could keep it at school,” she recalled. “We learned that his family was living in their car. The teacher told us that he read it again and again at school.”