Volunteers step up to donate 50,000 books to Tucson-area schools

On a quiet sidewalk in a peaceful neighborhood in Green Valley, there is a hand-made, hand-painted Little Free Library that is filled with books.

Lots of books. All kinds of books, from Dean Koontz and Robert Ludlum to Lisa Genova and John Gray.

Next to the book box is a simple, yellow metal bench, and together they tell you everything you need to know about the work being done inside.

Meet Linda Laird, and welcome to the home of a remarkable initiative called Books for Classrooms.

Founded by a handful of community volunteers just 3½ years ago, Books for Classrooms has already donated some 50,000 books to Pima County schools.

“When we first started, I’m not sure people thought a few old ladies from Green Valley could really do this,” the 81-year-old Laird confessed. “I’m not sure we did, either, but good ideas make friends. And we now have a lot of great friends to help us.”

Laird has never been far from books — or education. Her former husband, David Laird, built the University of Arizona Library and — later — the UA’s Center for Creative Photography.

She is even a published author, Laird laughingly admits. Her history of Kansas grain elevators was published in 2012.

But Laird was simply being a community do-gooder when she walked a picket line with striking Arizona school teachers in 2018.

“A couple of friends and I wanted to stand up for the teachers,” she recalled, “so we grabbed a red T-shirt and a sign and walked with them a few times. One day a teacher told us there were no books in her classroom. A former librarian told us her school no longer had a library. Can you believe it? Schools without books? We all agreed somebody should do something. We decided we should do something.”

In short, they wanted to get books into the hands of children, but how could they do that? Where would they even start?

Fortunately, they soon learned, Green Valley is rich with retired teachers and librarians eager to help. A core group of four to five women quickly became 10. They spent months researching possible strategies, identifying potential donors, learning the ins and outs of the book business, and recruiting allies within local schools.

One early stop was at World of Words, the research center for children’s books at UA’s College of Education.

Another was a meeting with Dustin Williams, superintendent of schools in Pima County. “He was hugely supportive,” Laird recalled. “Not only did he encourage us, he introduced us to people who could help.”

In time, Laird and her group of volunteers registered as a 501©3 nonprofit and unveiled plans to provide high-quality, age-appropriate, demographically appropriate books to Title I public schools in Pima County.

Their mantra: all children deserve to see themselves in books, no matter where they’re from or what they look like.

Their focus: those demographic communities that are traditionally underfunded and always under-represented in the mainstream of children’s literature.

“We found a study done five years ago by the University of Wisconsin,” Laird explained. “It showed that only 1% of all the books published in North America each year depict characters who are Indigenous. Only 5% are Hispanic, 10% Black. We want those kids to see themselves in books, too.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Books for Classrooms developed book lists for 18 target audiences, including children with disabilities, subdivided by age group — and each book vetted by a program volunteer.

In 2019, Books for Classrooms began offering these books to local school teachers, and the first delivery was made that September: 337 books to Wrightson Ridge School in Sahuarita.

“That was a big, big day for sure,” Laird recalls. “It didn’t really hit home, though, until we began getting letters from the teachers and kids who got the books. That’s when we knew we were making a difference.”

Books for Classroom has since made similar visits to dozens of schools throughout Pima County, including Ajo and Sells.

The program has grown quickly, from the 2,000 books it delivered in 2019-20 to nearly 25,000 this year.

The budget has grown from “who knows?” to $300,000. The organization’s family of funders now includes such local heavyweights as the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and Desert Diamond Casino.

Still, Books for Classrooms feels a lot like the Little Free Library it was on Day One. The warehouse is a room in Laird’s home. The loading dock is cleverly disguised as her carport.

Volunteers still screen the books, review requests, package the orders and deliver them to schools themselves.

“We’re up to 40 or 45 regulars, but we all work from home and we all do it for free,” Laird said. “Every penny we receive goes to buying books.”

Let’s just say they are getting plenty of bang for their bucks … with books.

Laird was asked how Southern Arizonans might help her and her friends reach more of our young readers.

“Even with the structure we have, we could probably deliver twice as many books as we do if we had more money to spend,” she said. “But we also need more volunteers, not just on the book side but the technology side. We’d love to have our website redone. Having a real social media person would be great. And we’re always open to new ideas.”

To donate, volunteer or learn more about Books for Classrooms, visit the organization’s website: BooksForClassrooms.org.

FOOTNOTES

There is always a link to Green Valley, but friends of friends have played a key role in the growth of Books for Classrooms. The group’s grant writer lives in Prescott. The website was designed in Connecticut; the social media accounts were set up in Dubai.

The organization’s “annual meeting” is an open house at Laird’s home during the holidays.

The UA Poetry Center will present poets Michael Wasson and Jennifer Elise Foerster in its last regular program of the year on Thursday, April 27. It will begin at 7 p.m. To learn more, visit poetry.arizona.edu.