A Reason In The Season To Be Thankful
Marilyn Nemzer– A Heartfelt Venture By The Bay, The Book Exchange
By Mary Swift-Swan
Published: November, 2003
Old Books, schoolbooks, textbooks, encyclopedias, and library books add tons to America’s landfills. In 1987, Marilyn Nemzer of Tiburon needed books for her home tutoring and teacher placement business, working primarily with private schools in Marin. She asked one of the Marin private schools she and her team worked with if they had any books. They had 20-30 boxes of "retired" books. That school called another resulting in 80 boxes of books. More books than Marilyn and her staff needed. She called the local paper, the Marin Independent Journal, which ran an article about books for free on a given Saturday. With lemonade ready, Marilyn set up a table in her driveway to give away the overstock of 80 boxes of books. People came and kept coming from all over the area to pick up books. By noon, the 80 boxes of books were gone but people kept coming until 4pm. Marilyn felt badly about how many people who needed "obsolete" schoolbooks she had to turn away.
The following Monday, she received a call from a Marin school district custodian who offered her 300 boxes of books. He asked, "Do you want them or should I send them to the dumps." She took a deep breath and said, "Send them over." With her garage driveway and patio piled six feet high with stacks of books, a place to redistribute the books was clearly needed. With the help of students from Del Mar Middle School in Tiburon, the books were moved into a shop at Montecito Shopping Center, kindly donated by the owner for one year. In three months, Marilyn received over 70,000 books. The books were given away to teachers, tutors, home-school educators, staff members from prisons, day care centers, shelters, hospitals, and community centers. People came in whenever the doors were open, walking out with a treasure of thousands of dollars of books for free.
The year was over too fast. Without a generated income from the efforts, they could not afford rent so they had to go where they were given space. They moved many times over the years. In the year 2000, they moved to their current Hamilton Field location. "A warehouse nearly the length of a football field." The Book Exchange regularly supports 500 local organizations that provide education. It has received and redistributed nearly 1.5 million books in 16 years, yet near and far people are still just finding out about them.
Where do the books come from? "Books come from schools and libraries, primarily. Mostly from the nearby area of not more than a 2-hour driving distance, though some have come from as far away as San Diego or Washingon state. Schools are the biggest source because of a seven-year requirement to purchase new textbooks and cycle out the old. Many are in near-new condition. …It is exciting and rewarding to see these books get into the hands of educators, homeless shelters, and to people across the country and around the world. It is doubly rewarding to realize how grateful people are to not have to dump their books. To just know the Book Exchange provides for people a socially and environmentally responsible alternative to dumping books in our limited landfills." Marilyn explained.
In the first ten years, when operation expenses were not met by donations, Marilyn and her husband Ken donated money themselves, nearly enough to send one of their three children to college. The change is minor, books are still almost free. A box of books is only $10 for educators. These contributions to the 501©3 are the primary way to keep the lights on, with augmentation by sales of quality adult reading books for $1 each, plus a small grant from a Rotary Club in Tiburon. Grants would seem a natural source of funding for the group but so far it has "fallen between the cracks," said Marilyn. Her "paid job" is writing educational materials about geo-thermal and other renewable energy sources for the Department of Energy via grants of size so she is very familiar with the process. Under a grant-supported effort of two years, she has produced a book for 6-12 year olds called Energy for Keeps, which is being released in November 2003. It was inspired inpart by book requests made by teachers who visited the Book Exchange. It seems the Exchange is a place to hear what is needed.
Inside, near one of the dock doors, sit six pallets of books sorted, boxed, and shrink wrapped. A complete town library for a community in Israel stands waiting because funding for shipping fell through . The books are being held for a few months to allow extra time to try to find new funding. The Book Exchange has sent books to over 40 countries, including Nigeria, Philippians, China, India, Mexico, Russia, and more. An orphanage in Tanzania was sent books by recent visitors. A church group had books shipped in to help educate students in Cambodia. In a single shipment, 1,000 boxes with 30,000 books were shipped by Nigerian Chief Edward. He sent them to help children in his sponsored village. Closing the packed container, he expressed his feelings about how the gift of books would create a major impact. He said he expected the books to aid in educating 300,000 students in the primary and nearby villages. He thanked Marilyn and her volunteer staff profusely saying, "I’ve visited and sent money over the last three years, but there is still great need. I feel a lack of education is a key to the their poverty."
All Global Book Exchange personnel are volunteers. School kids volunteer to put in required community service hours. Volunteers also include teachers and retirees, plus those who initially came for books but come back because they love the place even without indoor heat or plumbing. Working there is reported to be a pleasure by all interviewed. It is an educator’s treasure (ware)house. One such volunteer was William Urbina. He started volunteering at the Book Exchange at 15. Before he left for college this fall, he completed their new 15- minute video. The video tells the story from the beginning. Global Book Exchange’s hope for the video is to let more educators and community groups know of this unique resource. At its debut at Marilyn’s supportive Rotary Club in Tiburon in late October, the interesting and touching video received a standing ovation. She told the club they need more K-12 books, volunteers, funding to expand their outreach, and a low-cost way of shipping books overseas.
This Thanksgiving, please include Marilyn’s courageous efforts, her supportive family, and the many valiant volunteers at the Book Exchange in your good wishes when giving thanks for people who do things which give new hope to children around the corner and around the world.
The Book Exchange, 821 State Access Road, Hamilton Field, Novato, CA 94949.
Call ahead (415) 883-2665. Open most Thursdays 1-4 and most Saturday s 12-3pm.
bx@marin.org - bookexchange.marin.org
