Contributed by Alys Culhane
(907) 745-4747
Remember the old joke? What’s black and white and red (read) all over? The answer to this riddle is, of course, a book. As kids we all knew this. Nowadays most children know the answer. However, here in Alaska some kids will be mystified. This is because, sad to say, some have never had a book read to them or even held one in their hands.
The recent finding is sobering. Apparently, Alaska now ranks fiftieth, yes, fiftieth in the nation in terms of literacy for those in the third grade or lower. The question isn’t how did this come to be, but rather, what might we do about it?
The answer is, get books into the hands of parents and encourage them to read to their kids. This, right now, is the primary goal of those involved with newly formed Bright Lights Book Project, a Valley Community for Recycling Solutions (VCRS) based program. The secondary goal is to get books into the hands of those of all other ages.
The project began last October and in a rather auspicious fashion. At about same the time, VCRS Volunteer Sue Benz and I both discovered that the VCRS Quonset hut was filled with 20 or-so chest-high boxes of books. Like Sue, I pulled forth several books, took several home and gave a few to friends. We were subsequently told that the books in the boxes were slated to be shipped out to a paper mill as a “mixed paper” commodity but with a market downturn for that material, shipping was on hold. It occurred to us both that some of these books might be salvaged and passed on to a general readership; we were willing to devote some time and energy to the possibility.
Sue and I then decided to put aside the best books and have a pre-holiday book sale. Enter Bill Schmidtkunz, the owner of Matanuska Woodworks. Bill assisted with the sorting, which initially took place on the VCRS warehouse bale storage floor. We went through the big boxes, pulled forth books, and put them in small boxes, categorizing by subject matter as we went along.
I came up with the project name. Bright Lights Books seemed most appropriate given that our first sale was scheduled for December 21, the solstice. The sale was a huge success. All day, readers came in the door and walked out with books in hand. And in the days following they returned, some with friends, and purchased more books.
As importantly, prior to, during, and after the sale, all involved were picking up books and either talking about what a good read the book might be or once was. Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie was a huge favorite, as was Garth Stein’s The Fine Art of Dancing in the Rain. My two best finds were a signed first edition of Alaska Explorer Norman Vaughn’s With Byrd at the Bottom of the World and children’s author Maurice Sendek’s Higglety Pigglety Pop. The pen and ink illustrations in Sendek’s book were so beautiful that they brought tears to my eyes.
The project has since continued to ride on the wave of good will and fellowship that materialized on the solstice. We began a distribution program and are now providing books to area schools, daycare centers, restaurants, hospitals, and hair salons. Our neighbors at the Mat Su Animal Shelter have their own literacy program, and so welcomed our donation of several animal training, how-to, and narrative based books. And we have continued to encourage individuals to come and purchase books for a nominal fee.
We’re currently organizing a second sale which will take place on February 15th , this event being our gala book store opening celebration. We’ll again be selling baked goods. In honor of this sale being on Valentines Day weekend, we’ll have plenty of cookbooks and Romance novels for sale; this in addition to numerous books in a variety of other genres, children, young adult fiction and nonfiction, autobiography, and self-help included. We’ll also have music as well as a featured reader; Bill Schmidtkunz, the poet Laureate of Sutton, will be reading from his poetry collection, entitled Home.
The Bright Lights Book Project is community-based so volunteers will continue to be greeted with open arms. We can always use an assist with sorting, cleaning, labeling, stacking, and distributing books. For more information check out our Facebook pages, @Valley Community for Recycling Solutions and @Bright Lights Book Project, or contact me, Alys, by e-mail: alysculhane@hotmail.com.
