Indiana University East Campus Library and Center for Service-Learning have been selected as a community host site for World Book Night 2013. The goal of this World Book Night is to get books into the hands of people to encourage reading for enjoyment.

The community is welcome to participate by applying to the World Book Night organization to receive 20 books to give away. Applications are due January 25, 2013 and should be submitted through worldbooknight.org. This year’s selection of books is available online at iue.libguides.com/worldbooknight.

“World Book Night gives each of us the opportunity to share the love of reading with 20 people we may have never even met. The free books we distribute can help introduce readers to new perspectives, learn about other times and places, and simply provide the opportunity to experience the enjoyment of reading for pleasure,” said Frances Yates, director of the Campus Library. “The Library and Center for Service-Learning are proud to support this nationwide advocacy for reading and we are optimistic that IU East students, staff and faculty will distribute at least 1,000 books in our community.”

World Book Night is an annual celebration dedicated to spreading the love of reading, person to person. Each year on April 23, tens of thousands of people go out into their communities and give half a million free World Book Night paperbacks to light and non-readers.  In 2012, World Book Night was celebrated in the U.S., the UK, Ireland, and Germany.

According to World Book Night, reading for pleasure improves literacy, actively engaging emerging readers in their desire to read. Reading changes lives, improves employability, social interaction, enfranchisement, and can have a positive effect on mental health and happiness. Book readers are more likely to participate in positive activities such as volunteering, attending cultural events, and even physical exercise.

Neil Sabine, interim dean of the School of Sciences and Mathematics and associate professor of biology, said books transport readers to places they could not visit and make them intimately familiar with people they could never meet. He added books transport readers through time, resurrect the dead, and reveal hidden truths.

“Books illuminate the mind and that is why the book is always better than the movie. I have always loved the library because all those books on the shelves are silent but come alive as soon as I open one and start to read,” Sabine said. “The World Book Night program brings all of this and more to people who would otherwise not have these opportunities. This is a great program and will have even greater impacts on people’s lives.”

Stephanie Hays-Mussoni, director of Gift Development, is participating in the give away for the first time this year.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to give out books that are relevant and interesting reads.  It is a great way to encourage people to read a book they may not have normally chosen or had access to,” Hays-Mussoni said.

Apply to be a Book Giver by January 25, 2013

1) Apply to be a Book Giver by choosing from a list of books, and answering three questions (Where do you intend to give away the books? To whom do you intend to give away books? Why do you want to give books away?). The 20 books cannot be sold or given away to friends or family.

2) Book Givers are emailed by February 13, 2013, with the status of their application.

3) Choose IU East Campus Library as the distributor and pick up your books during the week of April 15, 2013.

4) Personally hand out 20 copies of the book to light or non-readers on April 23, 2013.

Participants are encouraged to help promote World Book Night through social media, taking photos or video. Also, participants are welcome to go back to the place where books were handed out and get feedback from recipients after April 23.