Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 25, 1993 TAG: 9303250438
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BOOK DRIVE SPONSOR GIVES KIDS TREASURE
Liz Rogers grew up in Joseph, Utah, an isolated town she says is "as rural as you can get."Her family belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as did all of her neighbors.
"I grew up thinking all the world was Mormon," she said. But when she became old enough to read, "books opened up the world for me."
Other children haven't had the same opportunity. Today, there are still many children living in rural areas and inner cities all over the nation where access to books is limited because of small or nonexistent libraries, Rogers said.
Rogers and her husband, James, district manager and branch manager, respectively, for World Book Encyclopedias for this area, have spent the past three years trying to change that.
The Rogerses live in Goodview, having recently moved their business to the Roanoke Valley from Knoxville, Tenn. There they sponsored book drives that brought more than 100,000 books to schools in Eastern Tennessee. Although the Rogerses no longer are there, the book drives still are going on, they said.
The idea for the project came about through conversations Liz Rogers had with a mall manager in Knoxville. Because schools in the area are required to buy a new set of encyclopedias every five years, Rogers spent a lot of time in the schools and discovered that there was a great need for books. Librarians' book budgets often are inadequate to keep up with the number of books destroyed or lost each year, Rogers said.
The Rogerses hope to repeat their success in the Roanoke Valley this spring, with the help of Tanglewood Mall.
The monthlong book drive started Saturday and ends on April 16. Anyone with new or used books to donate is invited to drop them off in front of the Fashion Bug store inside the mall. All kinds of books are needed for all age levels, particularly new atlases and geography books, language books, classics and teachers' resource books. But old college textbooks generally are not useful, Rogers said.
Lisa Bowling, marketing manager for Tanglewood Mall and a book lover who also grew up in a rural county, said the project is just one of many community service events the mall sponsors throughout the year.
There is an annual "Kids' Day," which this year was used to kick off the book drive. There are activities such as games, face painting and entertainment. Most years, she said, there also is a spelling bee, but this year, it was replaced by a "reading bee," where children competed to answer questions about books they read.
During the drive, the Rogerses, with the help of volunteers, put the books on shelves as they arrive. On April 16, after the drive ends, librarians from schools all over Southwestern Virginia will be allowed to choose the books they want to take back to their schools. Some of the books will be given to children who have no books in their homes, Rogers said.
Private schools and other organizations will be allowed to browse through the shelves April 17. The leftovers will be donated to charities and adult programs.
In the past, Liz Rogers said, some schools have gone away with up to 1,000 books. There is no limit on how many each librarian can take. Rogers has already contacted several schools, and the librarians there "are very receptive," she said. "I'm really impressed with the schools here." Rogers and Bowling have set a goal of 100,000 books, and they believe they'll have no trouble reaching it.
World Book directors are looking at the program as well and are considering making it a nationwide project, Rogers said. Although information about World Book will be available during the drive, Rogers said, "we don't even talk about buying. We're giving."
Bowling said she is really excited about the project. Children who don't develop a love of reading are at a disadvantage, she said. They need to know that "when you put a book in your hand, it's a treasure."