A Sustainable Development Project for Liberia The Liberian Books Project is made possible by the generosity of American college students www.liberianbooks.org
The Liberian Literacy Foundation has developed the Liberian Books Project to collect 1.2 million donated used college textbooks to build 1,200 literacy centers in Liberia and educate 1.8 million people.This is achieved by partnering with colleges and universities to collect 1,000 used college textbooks on each campus, create one scholarship for a Liberian student, train one volunteer literacy tutor from each college to travel to Liberia, and deliver renewable electricity to one literacy center in Liberia.
The Liberian Literacy Foundation was established to respond directly to the need for educational resources in Liberia.The Detroit, Michigan—based foundation partners with organizations throughout the world in the singular mission of supporting literacy in Liberia.
The West African nation of Liberia has recently emerged from fourteen years of civil conflict (1989-2003).During the conflict more than 95% of the country’s infrastructure—clinics, hospitals, and schools were damaged or destroyed.As a direct result, Oxfam International estimates that at the end of the country’s civil crisis, Liberia had an illiteracy rate of 90% among women and more than 75% among men of the country’s population.Today, Oxfam International estimates that more than 80% of Liberia’s 3.6 million people live on less than $1 a day.
As an immediate address to the challenges confronting learning institutions in Liberia due to a lack of educational resources, the Liberian Literacy Foundation has developed the Liberian Books Project—a sustainable development project for Liberia.Under the project, the programs of recycling books, building libraries, providing educational resources, and delivering renewable energy to Liberia are synchronized into one cohesive effort of sustainable support for Liberian schools.This is achieved by partnering with colleges and universities to collect 1,000 used college textbooks on each campus, create one scholarship for a Liberian student, train one volunteer literacy tutor from each college to travel to Liberia, and deliver renewable electricity to one literacy center in Liberia.
The Liberian Literacy Foundation designates donated books into two tiers. Tier I books are those designed for Kindergarten thru 12th grade levels.Tier I books are transported to literacy centers in Liberia.Tier II books are those designed for college level use within the United States.The foundation places Tier II books into its online bookstore to be resold with the proceeds covering the cost of training more than 1,200 teachers, building 1,200 literacy centers, and providing renewable electricity to hundreds of literacy centers to address the high rate of illiteracy in Liberia.
A pilot program which ran from 2007-2008 at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, has demonstrated that the goals of the project are easily achievable.This has been done by successfully collecting 1,000 used college textbooks, supporting one scholarship for a Liberian student at Wayne State University, and training one literacy tutor from the Wayne State University community.
Many US communities are faced with the same challenges confronting Liberian communities.The Liberian Books Project recognizes this by working with local community organizations to dedicate a portion of its proceeds to combating illiteracy in the US.While in Liberia with an illiteracy rate of more than 80 percent, the project’s success will positively impact the lives of more than 50 percent of Liberia’s population by building 1,200 literacy centers to educate 1.8 million people.
Impact of the Liberian Books Project
In Liberia:
300,000 gently used books for literacy centers
1,200 trained teachers
1,200 literacy centers
10 Megawatts of renewable electricity—wind and solar power for Liberian communities
In the US:
1,200 trained literacy tutors to work in US communities
120 US trained teachers
1 Megawatt of renewable electricity—wind and solar power for US communities.
The Liberian Literacy Foundation adopts the goals of the United Nations Millennium Development Challenge of 2015.The foundation seeks to support the accomplishment of these goals in Liberia by creating 1,200 scholarships, supporting 1,200 literacy centers and providing renewable electricity to these literacy centers and surrounding communities in Liberia by 2015.
The initial funding for the Liberian Books Project is dependant upon the sponsorship of 50 boxes required to ship 1,000 used college textbooks on each US campus.These donated used college textbooks are shipped to our distribution partner Alibris to be sorted into Tier I and Tier II levels.
Central to the goals of the Liberian Books Project is the creation of a fund—theLiberian Books Fund, which is sustained by proceeds from the sale of Tier II books. The Liberian Books Fund will cover the cost of delivering educational resources to distressed communities in Liberia.The Liberian Literacy Foundation recently completed a pilot program (2007-2008) which successfully sold more than 25 percent of a random sample of 1,000 books donated from student organizations at Wayne State University.The foundation’s pilot program successfully sold 272 books at an average price of $18.30.At this rate the foundation can project that the participation of 1,200 campuses will yield an estimated $12 million over a two-year period.These proceeds from the sale of used college textbooks create the Liberian Books Fund to cover the cost of the Liberian Books Project activities. Each year the success of the Liberian Books Project is measured by the number of teachers trained, literacy centers built, and renewable electricity generators delivered. The success of the Liberian Books Project model at Wayne State University now allows the expansion of the project to other colleges and universities.This proposal seeks support to expand the Liberian Books Project model to other college campuses.
The Liberian Literacy Foundation was established to respond directly to the need for educational resources in Liberia.The Detroit, Michigan based Liberian Literacy Foundation partners with organizations throughout the world in the singular mission of supporting literacy in Liberia.
The Liberian Literacy Foundation adopts the goals of the United Nations Millennium Development Challenge of 2015, and seeks to support the accomplishment of these goals in Liberia by creating 1,200 scholarships, supporting 1,200 literacy centers and providing renewable electricity to these literacy centers and surrounding communities in Liberia by 2015.
Background
The West African nation of Liberia has recently emerged from fourteen years of civil conflict (1989-2003).During the conflict more than 95% of the country’s infrastructure—clinics, hospitals, and schools were damaged or destroyed.As a direct result, Oxfam International estimates that at the end of the country’s civil crisis, Liberia had an illiteracy rate of 90% among women and more than 75% among men of the country’s populationToday, Oxfam International estimates that more than 80% of Liberia’s 3.6 million people live on less than $1 a day.
The United Nations estimates that like many in Liberia there are more than 774 million people globally who are unable to read and write.It is widely recognized that factors such as food security, medical support and academic mentorship play key roles in the educational development of children and adults.For these reasons, a comprehensive approach to tackling illiteracy and its underlying factors is required to reduce the number of people unable to read and write.
In 2005, Liberia shattered the ceiling on gender equality by electing Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a US educated economist, as Africa's first elected female head of state.Her election marked a renewed focus on the development of Liberia's ruined education infrastructure and a commitment to achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals of 2015.
Our Goal:According to the United Nations, 52% of Liberia’s population is under the age of 25.This is the segment of the population most negatively effected by the loss of educational opportunities caused by the Liberian civil conflict (1989-2003).The Liberian Books Project targets the delivery of educational resources to this segment of Liberia’s population by 2015.This is achieved by the direct participation of college campus organizations in the Liberian Books Project.College campus organizations participate by adopting the project as a service learning activity to collect donated used college textbooks in support of the project activities, or by becoming literacy tutors certified to assist learners in their local communities and beyond.
As an immediate address to the challenges confronting learning institutions in Liberia due to a lack of educational resources, the Liberian Literacy Foundation has developed the Liberian Books Project—a sustainable development project for Liberia.Under the project, the programs of recycling books, building libraries, providing educational resources, and delivering renewable energy to Liberia are synchronized into one cohesive effort of sustainable support for Liberian schools.
In the Recycling Books phase of the Liberian Books Project, college campus organizations partner with the Liberian Literacy Foundation by volunteering to collect 1,000 used college textbooks each academic year.The model utilized is to identify 40 student leaders, each collecting 25 used textbooks during the academic year as a service learning activity.The project also asks the alumni associations of each participating college to join us as we work to achieve the goals of the UN Millennium Challenge of 2015 by donating one used textbook for every graduating student each year, or sponsoring one of 50 packing boxes on each campus.The Liberian Literacy Foundation designates donated books into two tiers.
•Tier I books are those designed for Kindergarten thru 12th grade levels.Tier I books are transported to literacy centers in Liberia.
•Tier II books are those designed for college level use within the United States.The foundation places Tier II books into its online bookstore to be resold.To facilitate the sale of more than 8 million used college textbooks targeted during the project period the foundation has partnered with Alibris, an online international seller of used and rare books.Through the Liberian Literacy Foundation’s partnership with Alibris, Tier II books placed into our online bookstore are also available to the customers of such major booksellers as Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com and Half.com.
Proceeds from the online bookstore establish a literacy fund—the Liberian Books Fund.These proceeds cover the cost of sustaining the goals of the Liberian Books Project—to support literacy institutions in the US and Liberia.
Campus Volunteers Organizational Structure
Regional Captains
Regional Captains support the goals of the Liberian Books Project on several local campuses within each state.They work to ensure the success of Campus Captains by assisting in the areas of planning, executing, and coordinating the Liberian Books Project within each state.
Campus Captains
Captains are individual volunteers, campus organization leaders or their designates.Campus Captains coordinate the activities of Honorary Trustees within each campus organization.
Honorary Trustees
Honorary Trustees volunteer to collect textbooks from Humanitarians.They play the critical role of informing the public of the Liberian Books Project, our “A Million Books, For A Million Lives” campaign to electrify Liberian schools, and collect textbooks from interested donors—who we recognize as Humanitarians
Humanitarians
Humanitarians make it all happen!By donating a single used textbookto the Liberian Books Project Humanitarians make it possible for the Liberian Literacy Foundation to provide urgently needed educational support—books, computers, school laboratory equipment, and renewable electricity to students in Liberia.
The Liberian Books Project engages 25 colleges within each state working to each collect 1,000 used college textbooks.The collected textbooks (25,000) are transferred to one central point within each state—the host campus.From the host campus the books are shipped to Alibris Distribution Center in Sparks, Nevada.
At the Alibris Distribution Center in Sparks, Nevada, the textbooks are sorted in two tiers.Tier I books, those designed K-12 reading levels, are shipped directly to literacy centers in Liberia.Tier II college level books are placed into the Liberian Literacy Foundation’s online bookstore which raises funds to support literacy institutions in the US and Liberia.
A pilot program which ran from 2007-2008 at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, has demonstrated that the goals of the project are very achievable. This has been done by successfully collecting 1,000 used college textbooks, supporting one scholarship for a Liberian student at Wayne State University, and training one literacy tutor from the Wayne State University community.
Collecting 1,000 books—Student organizations within the Wayne State University community collected more than 1,000 books in three separate book drives.A sample of the books collected was placed into a special online bookstore with the goal of selling 250 books to sustain the project activities.During this period more than 272 books were sold with inquiries from Canada, Australia, Russia, Porto Rico and many other locations across the United States.
The success of the project model at Wayne State University now allows the expansion of the Liberian Books Project to other colleges and universities.Additionally, our pilot project demonstrates that if we had collected 1,000book on each campus a year earlier we would have delivered books, and renewable electricity to all 1,200 targeted schools today. The pilot project demonstrated the achievability of the Liberian Books Project with participants from the following cities:
Proceeds gained from the Recycling Books component of the Liberian Books Project pay for services and materials to ensure that learners have a place of learning that is structurally sound and environmentally safe.In partnership with local communities, literacy centers are provided new and gently used books collected from donors.Computers, school science lab equipment, internet access and other technological tools are made available to accelerate and enrich the learning experience.Aztec Software joins the Liberian Books Project by providing its computer based learning system at each of our literacy centers.Literacy centers supported by the Liberian Books Project will allow local communities access to resources and training in the areas of:
Basic Literacy
Computer Literacy
Financial Literacy
Health Literacy
Environmental Literacy
Aztec Software is a leading developer of computerized learning tools.With more than 28 years of success, the Aztec Software Learning System has enabled thousands of students in the United States to achieve their academic goals and become valuable members of society. Tools developed by Aztec Software support learners in the areas of primary and secondary grade levels (K-12), vocational training, General Educational Development(GED), English as a Second Language (ESL), ,financial literacy and basic literacy. The Liberian Books Project employs Aztec Software’s Learning System- a unique method of Assess-Test-Learn-Practice-Test (ATLPT) to ensure the consistency and quality of each learner’s experience.
In a country with an illiteracy rate of more than 80 percent, teachers must be the vanguard of any universal effort to address illiteracy.More than fourteen years of civil conflict has deprived Liberian teachers of the most basic training necessary to be successful in the classroom.Under the Educational Resources phase of the Liberian Books Project, Teacher Training and Literacy Tutor Training are two scholarships created to combat illiteracy in Liberia.
Teacher Training—1,200 scholarships are created to train Liberian teachers in support of the achievement of universal primary education in Liberia.These scholarships will train teachers for the primary, secondary and college levels while prioritizing secondary study in the following areas:
•Poverty Reduction •Literacy •Gender Equality •Children's Health •Women's Health •Combating Diseases •Environmental Sustainability •International Development
The training of specialists in each of these eight areas will develop the human capacity necessary to tackle illiteracy from a top down approach.
Literacy Tutor Training— Pro-Literacy Detroit will train 1,200 US college students as certified literacy tutors who volunteer to travel to Liberia and teach learners how to read and write.Certified literacy tutors are trained as workshop leaders who will work in their local communities to provide learners the assistance they need. These trainers provide an opportunity to combat illiteracy from a grassroots approach.
Pro-Literacy Detroit—the Detroit Chapter of Pro-Literacy International, is a nonprofit organization that has served Michigan residents for more than 25 years.Pro-Literacy Detroit makes basic literacy services more accessible by utilizing print, electronic media, and the Internet. Trained tutors are available to tutor learners at community centers, churches, libraries, schools, and in the workplace. The goal is to make literacy services available and convenient to learners.
Renewable Electricity
Liberia’s geographical location allows for maximum use of oceanic winds flowing into Liberia from the Atlantic Ocean, while its proximity to the equator allows many hours of sunlight as a much-needed source of energy to power solar electrical units.Under the Renewable Energy phase of the Liberian Books Project, wind, solar, and other forms of renewable electricity are employed to maintain a consistent availability of electrical power on which computers and other technological instruments of learning are wholly dependent.
Bergey Windpower Co. is one of the world’s leading suppliers of small wind turbines.With 30 years experience, installations in all 50 states and more than 100 countries, Bergey Windpower’s turbines are being employed to electrify literacy centers throughout Liberia as a partner in the Liberian Books Project.Turbines manufactured by Bergey Windpower require an average wind speed of 6 miles per hour to operate efficiently.Liberia’s average wind speed approaches 13 miles per hour, making wind turbines an ideal source of electricity for remote schools in Liberia.
The Liberian Books Project adopts the goals of the United Nations Millennium Development Challenge of 2015, and seeks to support the accomplishment of these goals in Liberia by creating 1,200 scholarships, supporting 1,200 literacy centers and providing renewable electricity to these literacy centers and surrounding communities in Liberia by 2015.
UN Millennium Development Goals 2015 #1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Target 1: Reduce, by one half, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day Target 2: Reduce, by one half, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger #2 Achieve universal primary education Target 3: Ensure that children, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling #3 Promote gender equality and empower women Target 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education #4 Reduce child mortality Target 5: Reduce, by two thirds, the under-five mortality rate #5 Improve maternal health Target 6: Reduce, by three quarters, the maternal mortality rate #6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases Target 7: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS Target 8: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases #7 Ensure environment sustainability Target 9: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the losses of environmental resources Target 10: Reduce, by one half, by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation Target 11: By 2015 to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers #8 Develop a global partnership for development Target 12: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system Target 13 & 14: Address the special needs of the least developed, land-locked, and small island developing countries Target 15: Deal comprehensively with debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long Target 16: In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth Target 17: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries Target 18: In cooperation with the private sector, make achievable the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications technologies.
#1 Create 1,200 scholarships for Liberian students in the following areas: •Poverty Reduction •Literacy •Gender Equality •Children's Health •Women's Health •Combating Diseases •Environmental Sustainability •International Development #2 Certify 1,200 volunteer literacy trainers
¨Prepare 1,200 US college students as certified literacy trainers and workshop leaders—workshop leaders will travel to Liberia each summer to train Liberian college students as literacy trainers.
¨Train Liberian college students as basic literacy trainers within Liberian local communities.
#3 Support 1,200 literacy centers
¨Provide computers gently used books and other educational materials to 1,200 libraries in Liberia.
#4 Provide renewable electricity to 1,200 literacy centers
¨Deliver wind and solar electricity generators to 1,200 literacy centers in Liberia.
10 Megawatts of renewable electricity—wind and solar power to Liberian schools
In the US:
1,200 trained literacy tutors to work in US communities
120 trained US teachers
1 Megawatt of renewable electricity—wind and solar power for US communities.
The Liberian Books Project will sell 1.2 million donated used college textbooks to build 1,200 literacy centers in Liberia and educate 1.8 million people.This is achieved by partnering with colleges and universities to collect 1,000 used college textbooks on each campus, create one scholarship for a Liberian student, train one volunteer from each college to travel to Liberia, and deliver renewable electricity to one literacy center in Liberia.Many US communities are faced with the same challenges confronting Liberian communities. The project recognizes this by dedicating a portion of its proceeds to combating illiteracy in the US.
Collecting 1,000 used college textbooks at each partner campus
·Tier I Books—It is estimated that 30% of the books collected will be shipped to literacy centers in Liberia.As these books are delivered to literacy centers in Liberia, they will collectively create the largest network of libraries in the country. ·Tier II Books—The project takes 1.2 million donated used college textbooks and makes them available to US college students at a significantly reduced cost.These books will allow students at our partner campuses to receive much needed savings in support of their own college success.Additionally, the sale of Tier II two books will raise the funds necessary to sustain the activities of the Liberian Books Project. Creating one scholarship for a Liberian student at each partner campus
More than 1,200 teachers will get the highest quality training necessary to be successful in the classroom.These scholars will be trained as teachers at the primary, secondary, and post secondary levels. §Teacher Training—scholarships are created to train Liberian teachers in support of the achievement of universal primary education in Liberia. §Literacy Tutor Training— Pro-Literacy Detroit will train US college students as certified literacy tutors who volunteer to teach learners how to read and write.These tutors will travel to Liberia as workshop leaders to train Liberian students to become literacy tutors.
Impact of Activities Building 1,200 literacy centers in Liberia
More than 95% of Liberia’s school were damaged or destroyed during the country’s civil conflict.The construction of 1,200 literacy centers will add significant resources to the existing schools and those to be constructed in the future.Each literacy center will train an estimated 1,500 people during the project period. Literacy centers supported by the Liberian Books Project will allow local communities access to resources and training in the areas of:
Basic Literacy
Computer Literacy
Financial Literacy
Health Literacy
Environmental Literacy
Delivering renewable electricity to one literacy center in Liberia
According to Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), twenty years ago Liberia produced an estimated 400 Megawatts of electricity.Due to vandalism, looting, and physical deterioration at the end of Liberia’s civil conflict (1989-2003), electricity production in Liberia was estimated to be less than 3 Megawatts of electricity with schools being severely hindered.The Liberian Books Project will deploy 10 Megawatts of wind and solar electricity to schools in Liberia.By deploying wind and solar generators on-site, schools will become the source of renewable electricity production instead of a secondary point of use.
Through a series of annual events, the Liberian Books Project adopts the goals of the United Nations Millennium Development Challenge of 2015, and seeks to support the accomplishment of these goals in Liberia by 2015.
April 2009A Million Books for a Million Lives 2009 is a tour event which takes the Liberian Books Project to college campuses across the United States.The tour allows each campus to host a special book drive event moderated by a guest speaker from Liberia.The event presents participants a unique opportunity to interact directly with a person of great significance working to achieve the goals of the Liberian Books Project in Liberia.The tour starts in April 2009 and runs annually until 2015. 8th, September 2009World Literacy Day
“A Million Books For A Million Lives 2009” the largest single book drive to benefit Liberian schools kicks-off on 1,200 college campuses.
December—2009Advance delivery of turbines to Liberian schools providedby advertising sponsors of the Liberian Books Project.
Book drives end with 1.2 million books collected (Target).
January—April 201025% of Tier II books sold through online bookstore, generating funds for second phase delivery of turbines to Liberian schools (Target).
June—August 2010Turbine deliveries to Liberia begins.
Summer in Liberia—representatives from each college travel to Liberia for the turbine installation.
The initial funding for the Liberian Books Project is dependant upon the sponsorship of 50 boxes required to ship 1,000 used college textbooks on each US campus.The donated used college textbooks are shipped to our distribution partner Alibris to be sorted into Tier I and Tier II levels.
The Liberian Literacy Foundation has secured support from the following organizations:
AmeriCorps VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. Founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993, VISTA has been on the front lines in the fight against poverty in America for more than 40 years.What VISTA Members Do VISTA members commit to serve full-time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency, working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, strengthen community groups, and much more. With passion, commitment, and hard work, volunteers create or expand programs designed to bring individuals and communities out of poverty.
·AmeriCorps provides 25 Vista volunteers June-August 2009 to coordinate the Campus Set-up and expand the Liberian Books Project to 1,200 campuses.
Aztec Software is a leading developer of computerized learning tools. With more than 28 years of success, Aztec’s Software Learning System has enabled thousands of students to achieve their academic goals and become valuable members of society. Software developed by Aztec support learners in the areas of K-12th grade levels, General Education Development (GED), English as a Second Language, financial literacy and basic literacy. The Liberian Books Project employs Aztec’s Learning System—a unique method of Assess-Test-Learn-Practice-Test (ATLPT) to ensure the consistency and quality of each learner’s experience.
·Aztec Software donates up to $1 Million in matching software support,
·Aztec Software Learning System to train more than 1,200 literacy volunteers,
·Provides technical support of Aztec Software in 1,200 literacy centers in Liberia.
Alibris—one of the worlds largest online sellers of used and rare books.Alibris has distribution agreements with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders and other major booksellers.As a partner of the project Alibris has the following roles:
·Pick-up donated books from each state,
·Facilitate the sale of all Tier II books through its online bookstore—Alibris.com,
·Cover the cost of shipping purchased books to each customer,
·The value of Alibris support is estimated to be $4 million.
Bergey Windpower Co. is one of the world’s leading suppliers of small wind turbines.With 30 years experience, installations in all 50 states and more than 100 countries, Bergey Windpower’s turbines are being employed to electrify literacy centers throughout Liberia as a partner in the Liberian Books Project.Turbines manufactured by Bergey Windpower require an average wind speed of 6 miles per hour to operate efficiently.Liberia’s average wind speed approaches 13 miles per hour, making wind turbines an ideal source of electricity for remote schools in Liberia.
·Provides wind turbines which deliver renewable electricity to remote literacy centers in Liberia.
Pro-Literacy Detroit—the Detroit Chapter of Pro-Literacy International, is a nonprofit organization that has served Michigan residents for more than 25 years. Pro-Literacy Detroit makes basic literacy services more accessible by utilizing print, electronic media, and the Internet. Trained tutors are available to tutor learners at community centers, churches, libraries, schools, and in the workplace. The goal is to make literacy services available and convenient to learners.
Pro-Literacy Detroit has trained over 6,000 volunteer tutors, and assisted over 11,000 learners. In the metro Detroit area, more than 400 volunteers provide 56,000 hours of service annually.
·Certifies 1,200 volunteers as literacy tutors to aid learners in local communities,
·Provides Workshop Leaders to develop literacy trainers in Liberia.
McGuire Woods LLP—With approximately 900 lawyers and 17 strategically located offices worldwide, McGuire Woods uses client-focused teams to serve public, private, government and nonprofit clients from many industries including automotive, energy resources, health care, technology and transportation, thus meeting clients’ needs from virtually any area of law.
·Provides pro bono legal services to facilitate the Liberian Books Project
Liberian Books Fund—Central to the goals of the Liberian Books Project is the creation of a literacy fund which is sustained by proceeds from the sale of Tier II books to cover the cost of delivering educational resources to distressed communities.The Liberian Literacy Foundation completed a pilot program (2007-2008) which successfully sold more than twenty-five percent of a random sample of one thousand books collected from Wayne State University.The foundation’s pilot program successfully sold 272 books at an average price of $18.30.At this rate the foundation can project that the participation of 1,200 campuses will yield at least $12 million dollars over a two-year period.
The future funding for the Liberian Books Project will be drawn from the Liberian Books Fund.
Recycling Books: In the Recycling Books phase of the Liberian Books Project, college campus organizations partner with the Liberian Literacy Foundation by volunteering to collect 1,000 used college textbooks each academic year.The model utilized is to identify 40 student leaders, each collecting 25 used textbooks during the academic year as a service learning activity.The project also asks the alumni association of each participating college to join us as we work to achieve the goals of the UN Millennium Challenge of 2015 by donating one used textbook for every graduating student each year.The Liberian Literacy Foundation designates donated books into two tiers. •Tier I books are those designed for Kindergarten thru 12th grade levels.Tier I books are transported to literacy centers in Liberia. Tier II books are those designed for college level use within the United States.The foundation places Tier II books into its online bookstore to be resold.To facilitate the sale of more than 8 million used college textbooks targeted during the project period the foundation has partnered with Alibris, an online international seller of used and rare books.Through the Liberian Literacy Foundation’s partnership with Alibris, Tier II books placed into our online books store are also available to the customers of such major booksellers as Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com and Half.com. Proceeds from the online bookstore establish a literacy fund—the Liberian Books Fund.These proceeds cover the cost of sustaining the goals of the Liberian Books Project—to support literacy institutions in the US and Liberia.
Each year the success of the Liberian Books Project is measured by the number of teachers trained, literacy centers built, and renewable electricity generators delivered.
Roles of Our Partners
The Liberian Literacy Foundation aims to expand the Liberian Books Project model to an additional 1,200 colleges within the continental United States with the support of the following partners:
Student Organizations—College campus organizations participate by adopting the project as a service learning activity to collect donated used college textbooks in support of the project activities, and by becoming literacy tutors certified to assist learners in their local communities and beyond.
Alumni Associations—We ask alumni associations to join in this global effort by sponsoring a book drive on each campus and donating a book for each graduating student. (Project Cost)
College Institutions—College institutions participate in this international effort by creating one scholarship for a Liberian teacher on each US college campus.
College Professors—College professors are presented an opportunity to travel to Liberia to provide their services to Liberian colleges on a short term exchange basis.
Community Partners—We ask community partners to join in this grassroots effort by supporting a book drive on one college campus within their community.
All donations to the Liberian Literacy Foundation and the Liberian Books Project are tax deductible c/o Pro-Literacy Detroit.Pro-Literacy Detroit is a not-for profit, non-governmental organization that is based in the US and recognized as tax exempt from federal income tax under IRC Section 501 (c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Service Code and is eligible to receive charitable contributions under IRC Section 170 (c)(2). A copy of the tax determination is available upon request
The Liberian Books Project is designed to be self-sustaining, therefore, the impact of your contribution will last a lifetime.
