Better World Books and their Contribution to Literacy Around the World

    

Since I began my graduate studies, buying books have become a natural part of my life.  Every two weeks or so, I am in Amazon, looking for books available for my courses and adding more titles to my Caribbean children’s book collection which thanks to Anansesem’s bookstore, I now do not have to go on guessing and crossing my fingers when using Amazon’s search engine.  While buying children’s books for my Caribbean collection, I noticed suddenly that most of my used books were from Better World Books.  And in one of their deliveries, I received a bookmark that briefly explained their mission.  More than a business of selling books, this company seeks also to fund literacy programs as well as rescuing books that would end up as landfill and be lost for readers like me.

     Better World Books have shown that to be a successful business, it doesn’t mean only to think about the profits made by investors.  It also means social compromise.  Many of the books obtained are from donations made by libraries as they must make space for new books.  The company in turn, returns part of the profit made from their donations to help these libraries to continue with their mission of providing books and literacy activities in their communities.  For every book bought, this company donates a bookto projects like Books for Africa and Feed the Children.

     Better World Books reminds us how valuable books are.  Nowadays in our digital world, where some people might find that the books they own are taking too much space and opt for discarding them, this company shows us that donating books is important.  It extends the life of a book where more people enjoy the treasures found in reading.  It also gives the opportunity for those not as fortunate as many of us, to have books for their enjoyment.

     So next time you decide to purchase a book in Amazon, especially a used one,  look and see if Better World Books has the book available for sell.  That way as you enjoy a book, another person around the world is also enjoying the magic of reading while the company also looks for new ways to bring literacy in every person’s home.

Visit Better World Books at  http://www.betterworldbooks.com/

Twitter: @BWBooks

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/betterworldbooks