Cowles Library donates its outdated books to Better World Books, a third party bookseller, to sell them online. In addition to getting these books in the hands of people who want them, we, and a charity of our choice, each receive a percentage of the sale price (which we use to purchase new books). Cowles Library has designated “Room to Read” as the organization that will benefit from sales of our outdated books. In addition to a monetary donation, Better World Book donates a book for each book sold. In this year alone, both Cowles and Room to Read have each received approximately $2,779 from these sales.

Room to Read is a nonprofit organization whose focus is on literacy and gender equality in education. This organization works with communities and local governments across Asia and Africa to develop literacy skills, to support girls to complete secondary school. More information about Room to Read is available at www.roomtoread.org/

—Claudia Frazer, Professor of Librarianship and Coordinator of Digital Initiatives Library