by Lyndsay Cunningham, English Major

“Please, no matter how we advance technologically, please don’t abandon the book. There is nothing in our material world more beautiful than the book.” -Patti Smith

As lifelong learners we know that being gifted a book is one of the greatest joys. Now, you can share your love of reading and language with area middle and high school students. We invite you to be part of that feeling in the coming weeks. The English Department is hosting a book drive that will kick off English Week, March 1-3, and continuing through the end of the spring semester. All books will be donated to Teachers’ Treasures of Indianapolis and distributed to students and teachers across the city.

We ask that all books donated be in new or gently used condition. If you don’t have any copies that you are ready to part with, maybe visit your nearest book resell shop to buy discounted copies for our young readers. We are more than happy to accept all books labeled Young Adult literature or considered appropriate for high school aged students. We are also taking children’s books. The only type of book not being accepted are textbooks, but we appreciate any biographies, classics, nonfiction, fiction, memoir, etcetera that you are willing to give.

To build connections with the students who will be receiving these books, we ask that you include a short-handwritten sentiment in the front of the books you donate. This can be a message about the book itself or something about the joys of attending college or being an English major. If you’re not sure what to write, template messages will be provided to you at the drop-off site.

Books can be dropped off in the labeled box in Cavanaugh Hall 429. If you have books at the ready this English Week, you may drop them off at the English Café on March 1, 2, and 3, from 12 noon to 3 p.m.

Questions? Feel free to contact Terry Kirts at tkirts@iu.edu.

Thank you for participating in the book drive and helping our young students enjoy reading!