Catherine Pells, branch manager of the Montgomery County South Regional Branch Library in The Woodlands, shows off one of her "Adopt-a-Book" displays which features holiday ornaments, each containing the image and purchasing information of a specific book title on the library's wish list. Customers can take the ornaments with them and buy the featured book or they may donate the dollar value for the book and let the library do the shopping. In the background at right is Erin Temple, of The Woodlands, and her daughter, Sophora, 2. Photo by Jerry BakerThe Grinch may have come and stole away more than $500,000 from Montgomery County library coffers, but the good folks of Whoville – or, The Woodlands - can help make it up.
If just one-quarter of the total number of Montgomery County Memorial Library System cardholders purchase one book in the recently-launched Adopt-a-Book program, the library will be able to restore all that has been lost due to budget cuts over the last two years.
"Adopt-a-Book has certainly been precipitated by the cuts to our book budget," said Library Director Jerilynn Williams. "Librarians at all seven of our locations have made their wish lists."
Marketing and Program Coordinator Melissa Baker said the master wish list consists of nearly 1,000 titles.
Every branch has received stacks of paper ornaments, each one adorned with the specifics of a book, including title, what it looks like, the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and the average price for a hardcover copy.
The ornaments at South Branch, 2101 Lake Robbins Drive, are hanging from free-standing holders. At Tulles, they are hanging in the new books section. At Central, they are hanging from miniature Christmas trees.
There are three ways to give, Baker said.
Patrons can take an ornament with them, go to the bookstore or shop online, and bring the book back to their home branch with the donation form filled out.
A bookplate, which is a large sticker that will be placed within the first few pages of the book, will identify it as an Adopt-a-Book, although donations may be anonymous.
The book will then be sent to Central branch in Conroe for cataloging and processing before returning to its new, permanent home at the donor's desired branch.
If patrons wish to donate on-the-spot, Baker said they can sponsor the price of the book. Or, if a patron doesn't care which particular title gets purchased, there are different levels of giving available, as well as the option to choose which genre they would like to donate to.
"Later, we can target the purchases to match the donor's wishes," Baker said.
The library has more buying power when purchasing in bulk, so gifts of money are appreciated as much as gifts of books.
"All the locations gave me a good range of titles, from kids to teens to adults, some fiction, some non-fiction, some new titles, some classics that get read over and over again and will replace worn copies, some popular titles…" Baker said. "Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid. We could always use more of those."
Williams said it's extremely important to have books available to kids. While adults can understand they may have to wait for a book, it's harder for kids, and Williams hates to see a child who wants to read be disappointed because the book they want is not available.
That's why award-winning titles such as The Hungry Caterpillar or The Night Before Christmas are also on the list.
"Those ones are borrowed so often," Williams said, "that they are lovingly worn out."
Under the Children's category on South Branch's wish list is Binky the Space Cat for $14.95. In the Young Adult genre is a request for the classic Fahrenheit 451 for $23; Under Adults is the Everything Guide to Thyroid Disease for $14.95, and The Lovely Bones, of which a movie version will be released in January, for $25.95.
That's just an example of the variety on one branch's wish list.
Every donor who fulfills a wish will receive a certificate saying "so and so has donated a book in your honor," turning a good deed into a gift-giving opportunity, Baker said.
"A book can be shared by more than 100 people as it circulates at a public library," Baker said. "So it truly is a gift that keeps on giving."
Adopt-A-Book Fast Facts
- Adopt-A-Book was launched to help fill library shelves after a 70 percent cut in the book-buying budget
- If one-quarter of library cardholders adopts one book each, the gap will be filled
- Ends Dec. 31
For branch locations and hours, click here [1]or visit www.countylibrary.org [2]