Library In a Box
 

DEVELOPING OUR YOUNG READERS -- HOW LOCAL ESSEX COUNTY REALTORS ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE -- AND YOU CAN, TOO!

THE WEST ESSEX BOARD OF REALTORS WAS AWARDED THE 2005 NEW JERSEY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD   FOR THE LIBRARY IN A BOX CHILDHOOD LITERACY PROGRAM.

The award was presented in Dec. 2005 in Atlantic City at the NJAR convention.
Accepting the award for the local board were Michael Lattimer, board president 2005, and Roberta Baldwin, Committee Chair.

What is Library in a Box®

Library in a Box® is a literacy program created for local Essex County Realtors by Realtor Roberta Baldwin and launched in 2002 to promote reading and literacy skills among 3-5 year-olds in daycare centers and nursery schools throughout the many towns served by the more than 700 REALTORS® with membership in the West Essex Board of Realtors. "The Board was looking for a completely original community-outreach idea to make its own," said Elsie Abramo, WEBOR's Executive Officer. "As a non-profit educational association, we are perfectly suited to join existing efforts to promote pre-school literacy."

Linda Grotenstein, WEBOR's board president when the project was launched in 2002, concurred: "Our work as Realtors touches the lives of so many children. We're pleased to be able to give something back to them and to make what we see as an ongoing contribution to developing young readers in Essex County, NJ. Roberta came to us with this idea and we immediately said, 'Run with it!"

How Does The Project Work?

Library in a Box® is a self-contained starter-library fashioned from a colorfully painted, slatted wooden box that includes 30 new, hardcover books and a colorful "Reading Rug."

Who Receives Boxes?

Thirteen deserving local groups were chosen by the Board's Community Service Committee to participate in 2002. Over 2 days in mid-October, the boxes were disseminated to daycare programs in Montclair, Belleville, Bloomfield, Verona, Cedar Grove, East Orange, South Orange, West Orange and Maplewood to deserving daycare centers, nursery schools and community centers. In 2003, 3 boxes were designated for other centers.  To augment their new libraries, a six-pack of classic children's titles, such as "Goodbye, Moon," was disseminated to groups who participated in the first round. In 2004, 6 more daycare centers are to receive their libraries, with the support of local real estate professionals and local donors, and in 2005, another 6 boxes found their way into the hands of deserving local children. In the spring of 2006, 4 more boxes will be awarded to additional daycare centers locally. Another round of library deliveries are scheduled for 2007.

Who Supports the Project?

Each Library in a Box® is co-sponsored and logos are affixed to each box with the names of each donor. Lead underwriters for the first round of new libraries were: Greenwich Home Mortgage of Clifton, Junior League of Montclair-Newark, Inc., Kiwanis Club of Caldwell, James J. McDonald, Esq. of Verona,  and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage-Montclair office. Other donors: Mark Yecies of SunQuest Mortgage, Carl Nielsen of King Mortgage, Susan Hatzopolos, local realtors Richard Stanton, Schweppe Burgdorff, RE/MAX Village Square-Montclair, Carol Tangorra, Jennifer Ley, Linda Grotenstein, & Rhodes Van Note.

The committee is always looking for donors for this worthy project. If you would like to support Library in a Box, please contact us! You will be invited to the presentation of your box at a local daycare center and to future LIB fundraising events.

Where do you get the books?

With assistance from local Montclair booksellers, a colorful, diverse selection of new, contemporary hardcover fiction, non-fiction and poetry picture books are chosen by WEBOR's Community Service Committee by local Realtors.

Designed by Nancy Bastan of nlb graphics of Upper Montclair, the Library in a Box® logo visually introduced the project as a veritable Jack-In-The-Box, where the wonderful surprise is books. The project's "Reading Rug" advisor was Cheryl Morse of Bloomfield, a direct marketing coordinator for Clifton, NJ-based Linens'N Things.

Who Presented the Boxes?

In year 1, members of the Community Service Committee were joined by a wonderful group of celebrity readers at virtually every stop. Donating their time to read to the children Were WPLJ Radio personality Patty Steele, WABC-TV reporter Laurie Stokes, Enja jazz recording artist Melissa Walker, Just Us Books publisher Wade Hudson, children's book illustrators Daniel Kirk and Julia Gorton, and author Lorenzo Pace. Second year readers included Patty Steele and realtors Nancy Gentile and Jennifer Ley, both with performance experience.

How Was The Project Conceived?

The Library in a Box® project was conceived by the current chair of WEBOR's Community Service Committee, Roberta Plutzik Baldwin. Before becoming a real estate professional, Roberta was involved in the book and newspaper publishing industry as an author, editor, and executive. Among her books were "Being Your Best," a life handbook for pre-teen girls written with TV actress Tina Yothers; "Brother and Sister Superstars"; and a young people's biography of singer Lionel Richie. While a newspaper editor, she wrote numerous features on children's books and authors, and had a syndicated children's book review column for more than 5 years for the BPI International Newswire.

Roberta credits her 2 committee members for working beyond the call of duty to make the project a wonderful success.

The West Essex Board of Realtors has now made Library in a Box its signature community- service project. Every year, additional daycare centers with a need for books will be indentified.

Note: The scope of Library in a Box® could also be enlarged in the future to include large type books given to nursing homes and senior facilities.

For more information about Library in a Box® and how you can replicate it in your area, contact:

Elsie Abramo, Executive Officer
West Essex Board of Realtors, at:
973-655-9660
or e-mail Roberta Baldwin, Library in a Box Committee Chair, at RobertaBaldwin@verizon.net