Here\u2019s a riddle: What do books and corn have in common?\u00a0 The answer: \u00a0overabundance. Reading Michael Pollan\u2019s The Omnivore\u2019s Dilemma<\/em> (which I snatched up at my local library\u2019s gently used book sale) started me thinking about the dilemma of having more product than market. Pollan\u2019s description of towers of rotting bumper-crop corn piled up outside maxed-out grain elevators reminded me of the tower of boxes containing leftover donated books on the last day of the book sale at the\u00a0 library in the small, Hudson Valley town where I live.<\/p>\n

At every used-book sale I\u2019ve been involved with, I\u2019ve been intimately aware of this: the bibliophile\u2019s dilemma. I have the privilege and sometimes burden of being one of a handful of volunteer book sorters to touch and review every donated book spine.\u00a0 Many books find homes.\u00a0 But often, like the runt of the litter left behind, some books, particularly those of a technical nature and specialized topics, do not find their way into the arms of hungry readers.<\/p>\n

In fact, the aftermath of a book sale often is the most fraught for the book lover. Being somewhat new to this endeavor, in my first year of sorting, I was aghast to learn that some of the like-new books were recycled\u2014never to have the chance to provide that one sentence or one paragraph to someone whose understanding might be altered forever by a nugget of wisdom or a thought never before considered.<\/p>\n

Donating the unsold books is sometimes successful and sometimes not. The diversity of the individuals and organizations that accept book donations speaks to the difficulty of \u201cgetting rid\u201d of the unsold books. This year, children\u2019s and juvenile titles went to Catholic Charities and to a teacher in Appalachia. A teacher of juvenile offenders at a maximum-security prison carted away three or four boxes. Veterans got into the game as well, when our congressman\u2019s spouse took a few boxes for distribution.\u00a0 At last year\u2019s sale a counseling facility for abused women took five or six boxes. A local low-security prison sometimes accepts paperback adventure and mystery (no pornography or male nudes, thank you) but in limited quantities. A local nursing home will accept large-print titles.<\/p>\n

Larger charitable organizations, such as Goodwill, accept books in manageable quantities:\u00a0 five or six boxes at a time over time. And the ultimate salvation: Salvation Army. For the past two sales, the regional headquarters in Albany took a pickup truck\u2019s worth of boxes of books.<\/p>\n

But even there, the dilemma rankles: \u00a0Will the books ever have the chance to fulfill the authors\u2019 intent: to educate, to entertain, to open up a mind?\u00a0 Or do all those painstakingly chosen words ultimately end up being bleached away, pulped, and obliterated anyway?<\/p>\n

Like much in our wasteful consumer society, the same question abounds:\u00a0 Why is there not a better, more efficient, and meaningful system for transferring the wealth\u2014whether food or the printed word\u2014to those who need it the most?<\/p>\n

Pondering this dilemma sent me to the Internet, where I found a jumble of organizations committed to the mission:\u00a0 Books Behind Bars, Book Aid International, Books for Africa, Bridge to Asia Books Program, and Books for International Goodwill to name just a few.<\/p>\n

Adopt a Library<\/a>, a clearinghouse for matching libraries searching for book donations and book donors, sounded particularly interesting. The work of the organization has been so successful that it has been officially recognized by Congress through creation of the Adopt a Library National Day.<\/p>\n

One organization listed on the Adopt a Library website intrigued me.\u00a0 And how could it not?\u00a0 The Camel Library<\/a>. \u00a0The name itself sets the mind wandering.\u00a0 Founded in 1996, in that year just three camels plus a librarian trekked with as many books as could be loaded on each animal\u2019s back (about 200) to deliver them to nomadic tribes living in the impoverished region in Kenya\u2019s northeastern province near the Somalian border. Today the organization\u2019s transport system has increased to twelve camels, affectionately dubbed the camel mobile.\u00a0 The determination and dedication of those volunteers to deliver what is now more than seven thousand books is truly inspiring.<\/p>\n

And though my imagination is caught by the exoticism of the camels carrying their intellectual burden to excited children and adults who would otherwise have no access, \u00a0and caught too by the image of the books being laid out on a blanket under the acacia trees for readers to excitedly peruse, my heart is caught by needs closer to home, particularly the needs of some of America\u2019s most chronically overlooked and ignored groups: \u00a0reservation-residing Native Americans.\u00a0 Seeking your help, many tribal colleges and reservations are posting their wish lists on the Adopt a Library website.\u00a0 To all of you bibliophiles out there:\u00a0 Take a look, share the bounty, and resolve the dilemma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a riddle: What do books and corn have in common?\u00a0 The answer: \u00a0overabundance. Reading Michael Pollan\u2019s The Omnivore\u2019s Dilemma (which I snatched up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":9938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[294,6,784],"tags":[1229,1106],"yoast_head":"\n