lots of books. All kinds of books, from Dean Koontz and Robert Ludlum to Lisa Jenova and John Gray.

Next to the bookcase is a simple yellow metal bench that together will tell you everything you need to know about the work going on inside.

Meet Linda Laird and welcome to our remarkable initiative classroom books.

Books for Classrooms was founded just three and a half years ago by a small group of community volunteers and has already donated nearly 50,000 books to schools in Pima County.

“When we first started, I don’t know if people thought a few old ladies in Green Valley could really do this.” But good ideas make friends, and now we have a lot of great friends to help us out.”

Laird has never strayed far from books and education. Her ex-husband, David Laird, built the University of Arizona Library and later she built UA’s Center for Creative Photography.

She’s even a published author, Laird admits with a laugh. Her Kansas grain elevator history she published in 2012.

But Laird was merely a community Service-to-Other when he picketed an impressive Arizona school teacher in 2018.

“A few friends and I decided to stand up for the teachers,” she recalled. One day she said her teacher didn’t have a book in her classroom. The former librarian said her school no longer has a library. Can you believe it? A school without books? We all agreed someone had to do something. We decided we should do something. “

In short, they wanted to put books into the hands of children, but how could they do that? Where do they start?

Fortunately, they soon learned that Green Valley had retired teachers and librarians eager to help. From 4 she quickly grew to 10 she was a core group of 5 women. They spent months researching possible strategies, identifying potential donors, learning the ins and outs of the book business, and recruiting collaborators within local schools.

One early stop is world of wordsCenter for Research in Children’s Books at the University of Education, UA.

Another was a meeting with Pima County School Principal Dustin Williams. “He was very supportive,” recalls Laird. “Not only did he encourage us, he also introduced us to people who could help us.”

In time, Laird and her volunteer group registered as a 501©3 nonprofit and announced plans to provide Pima County’s Title IX public schools with high-quality, age- and demographic-appropriate books.

Their motto is that all children deserve to see themselves in books, regardless of where they come from or what they look like.

Their focus is on a demographic community that is traditionally underfunded and consistently underrepresented in mainstream children’s literature.

“We found research that the University of Wisconsin did five years ago,” explains Laird. “We found that only 1% of all books published annually in North America feature indigenous characters. Only 5% are Hispanic and 10% are black. wants those children to see themselves in books too.

Books for Classrooms developed a list of books disaggregated by age group for 18 target audiences, including children with disabilities, and each book was vetted by program volunteers.

In 2019, Books for Classrooms began making these books available to teachers at local schools, with the first deliveries taking place that September. 337 books have been delivered to Wrightson Ridge School in Sahuarita.

“It was a very big day for sure,” recalls Laird. “But it didn’t really resonate with me until I started getting letters from teachers and kids who got the book. That’s when I realized we were making a difference.”

Since then, Books for Classroom has made similar visits to dozens of schools across Pima County, including Ajo and Sells.

The program has rapidly expanded from 2,000 titles distributed in 2019-2020 to nearly 25,000 titles this year.

The budget was increased from “Who knows?” Up to $300,000. The organization’s family of funders now includes local heavyweights such as United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, Southern Arizona Community Foundation, and Desert Diamond Casino.

Still, Books for Classrooms is a lot like Day One’s Little Free Library. A warehouse is a room in a landlord’s house. The loading dock is cleverly disguised as a carport.

Volunteers still sort books, verify requests, pack orders and deliver them to schools.

“We have 40 or 45 regulars, and they all work from home and do it for free,” says Laird. “Every penny we receive is used to buy books.”

Let’s say they get their money’s worth…in a book.

Laird was asked how people in Southern Arizona can help her and her friends reach more young readers.

“Even with our structure, we could probably deliver twice as many books if we spent more money,” she said. “But we need more volunteers, not only on the book side but also on the technology side. I’d like to see the website remade. It would be great if we had a real social media person. We are open to new ideas.”

To donate, volunteer, or learn more about Books for Classrooms, visit the organization’s website. BooksForClassrooms.org.

There’s always been a link to Green Valley, but friends of friends have played a key role in the growth of Books for Classrooms. The group’s grant writer lives in Prescott. The website was designed in Connecticut. Social media accounts created in Dubai.

The organization’s “annual meeting” is an open house at Laird’s vacation home.

of UA Poetry Center will feature poets Michael Wasson and Jennifer Elise Forster in its final regular program of the year on Thursday, April 27. poetry.arizona.edu.