Blog Posts

OCtober 2024

12/20/2024

New Volunteer Opportunities

Access Books is busier than ever, which means we could use a few extra hands. Consider joining us at Enterprise Middle School next Saturday (10/12) for mural painting. We've also added several new dates in Compton for library organizing. Please check our schedule and sign-up.

Volunteer

In early December, we are serving a child care center. We are looking for a volunteer group to spend the morning shelving books at the center and creating book bundles for home libraries. If you'd like to help, contact [email protected].

The holidays are just around the corner and we have books to give away. Take-home book bundles encourage students to keep reading during the holidays. Bundled books also get shared within families and communities. Help us give the gift of a great book! If you are interested in creating book bundles at your home or school and delivering to a school site, please contact [email protected].

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Access Books

PO Box 64951

Los Angeles, CA 90064

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September 2024

9/24/2024

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Let's Vote For Books!

Libraries Foster Citizenship

The school library is foundational to a democratic society. Here, our youngest citizens are exposed to ideas from different points of view. Libraries provide the physical and emotional space for students to explore personal interests and encounter new perspectives. There's no propaganda, disinformation, or clickbait to distract them. This is how well-informed citizens are made!

It is our mission to fill bookshelves – to keep the information in school libraries current, engaging, and abundant. To this end, we provided nearly 300,000 books for school, classroom and home libraries during the 2023-2024 school year and we're gearing up to do it again. We've got a warehouse full of books and an army of volunteers ready to fill the dusty bookcases of underserved school libraries.

A Teacher Librarian Reflects...

"Before the library refurbishment, there was no culture of reading at our school. Providing books that students want to read got them into the space and allowed me to create programs that interest them. Before, there was nothing of interest.

"The volunteers added genres to my collection. Students were drawn to the books that interested them. Before, I might have 50 students come in a day – mostly to hang out. Now, over 200 students come in and they check out books. I already see them wanting to read more. Teachers are reporting students are reading for pleasure in advisory block period, which is almost an hour! This is all new.”

Our goal is to fill every underserved community with great school libraries so the culture of reading travels from elementary to middle to high school. One teacher librarian at a middle school remarked, “I know which students come from a school you have served. They love the library and see it as a good place to be and that the library belongs to all of us.” For Access Books, this is fundamental for democracy.

Our fall service schedule is live. Please sign up and keep checking as we are adding service dates to assist schools in culling their collections. Also, if you are interested in sponsoring a school or bundling for holiday book giveaways, please email: [email protected].

Donate

Copyright © 2024 Access Books, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you've volunteered with us in the past or have donated to support our cause.

Our mailing address is:

Access Books

PO Box 64951

Los Angeles, CA 90064

Add us to your address book

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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June 2024

7/5/2024

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Building Libraries, Building Bonds

Between January and May 2024, Access Books distributed 130,450 books, thanks to the dedication of hundreds of volunteers, school communities, and our enthusiastic staff.

Access Books strives to provide the students and schools we serve with an escape from the uncertainty and turbulence of everyday life. We do this by building welcoming libraries, providing an abundance of great books, and creating opportunities to meet authors.

“When I'm reading a good book, I'm in another world,” one student told us. This was echoed by another student who said, “The library is my happy place. I feel calm and like I belong.”

During the spring semester, we created or refurbished 12 libraries in the greater Los Angeles area. Many of the libraries had outdated collections, with some titles dating back to the 1950s. The Access Books team carefully curates collections for these schools, ensuring that students have access to the same popular titles, current information, and welcoming spaces as those in middle class and affluent areas. A special thanks to Anne-Marie Reyes, Sam Silva, and our Master’s in Library Science interns for their hard work in weeding and prepping collections.

One of our most popular programs is author visits. Every student receives a book from the visiting author. Students eagerly anticipate these events, and the excitement is palpable. “I can’t believe I got the book and he signed it!” one student exclaimed. Takisha Spears, principal at McKinley Elementary School, noted, “After some students had seen an author and they started reading the book or shared about the visit, other students could not wait to have their turn.” These visits are special and can be life-changing. Ms. Spears observed, “When students see an author that looks like them or has similar experiences and that author tells them they can be a writer, that really means something. The authors have no idea the impact they have.”

We are so fortunate to work with engaging, fun, and generous writers!

Edward Cisneros with students at McKinley

Greatest Hits: Spring 2024

Thanks to our amazing volunteers and generous donors, we:

Provided nearly 3,200 books to foster youth through our partnership with VIP
Delivered 10,000 Spanish-language books to elementary schools in Tijuana, Mexico
Provided 46,000 books in bundles for Read Across America and summer 2024
Sponsored nearly 400 students for a day of books, authors, stories and illustrations at the 10th annual YallWest book festival. Students received transportation, lunch, backpacks, and a bundle of 9 books
Held our first book fair, where students and teachers received funds to select and keep their own books. Students were in disbelief. “Really, Miss? For me?” was a constant refrain. Many students elected to skip recess and read, highlighting the success of this event

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Thank You,
LA Times Festival of Books!

We were honored to receive the LA Times’ Innovator’s Award, though Access Books is not innovating. We simply provide quality libraries and quality books. Here is one example of how our mission remains relevant as ever: months after a library refurbishment, a library aide emailed us, “I really thought the excitement of a new library and all the books would slow down but it has not. Students are still waiting before breakfast to come in. They are still joining me at recess and they are still sharing with others what they are reading.”

This award is dedicated to our volunteers, staff, and donors.

Rebecca Constantino, our founder, gives a speech at the LA Times Book Awards.

Finally, we want to thank Access Books volunteer, Joyce Lee and Dreamers Society Inc. for donating warehouse space. Eliminating warehouse cost allows us to purchase more books and serve more school libraries.

School is out and we are ready for summer! We have plenty of volunteer opportunities over the next two months — join us! Also, if you are interested in sponsoring any of our events, please reach out to [email protected].

Volunteer

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OCtober 2024

New Volunteer Opportunities

September 2024

Let's Vote For Books!

Libraries Foster Citizenship

A Teacher Librarian Reflects...

June 2024

Building Libraries, Building Bonds

Greatest Hits: Spring 2024

Thank You, LA Times Festival of Books!

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Thank You,
LA Times Festival of Books!