Library Program Seeks Funds To Ship Books

By Nancy K. Crevier

So much that is taken for granted was lost to the hurricanes that changed the face of many parts of Louisiana and Mississippi late last summer. Yet another example of this comes in the form of a request from librarian Betty Lazarus of Metairie, La., to members of Young Adult Library Service Association, a professional organization of librarians.

In an email received by YALSA members, Ms Lazarus said, “This may seem a little strange, but you have no idea how many requests I get for cookbooks, since almost everyone kept cookbooks on the first floor [of their homes] and that was what was flooded. My own mother is getting ready to cook for Passover, and only has the recipes that I had copies of, since she lost everything.”

In response, C.H. Booth young adult librarian Margaret Brown and several of the young people from the community, as well as local church groups, organized a cookbook drive that resulted in 20 cartons of cookbooks to be sent to New Orleans.

What Ms Brown and her helpers did not anticipate was the cost of shipping so many books to Louisiana.

“We have looked everywhere for someone to donate shipping costs,” said Ms Brown. “The best rate we have found so far is the library rate.” That rate is $15 to $20 per carton of books, she said, meaning that the young adult program needs to come up with nearly $400 to ship the cookbooks.

The young adult program budget does not have the funds to send the cartons to Louisiana, so Ms Brown is hoping she can rely on the generosity of the community, once again, to assist this effort.

Donations can be sent to the C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street, Newtown CT 06470, earmarked for cookbook shipping.