Adopt a Box

We have found that it is best to have two age appropriate boxes-baskets at most locations. One box is designed with suitable teen reading material and the other box contains books for children 12 and under.  We also are working on expanding our exchanges to include adult boxes.  This is a guideline of what we have found works.  There are many ideas shared here. We hope this will help you in your book exchange.

How to Overview:

 Teen and Children’s Book Exchange

  Getting Started: 

• Where to get books -- Continuously search for donations and organize a team to collect books. Books can be easily found at yard sales, donation of public collections by placing an ad on the radio or the in the newspaper can be solicited, checking with libraries and publishing companies for overstock, checking with local literacy groups for extra books or funds they may have available for similar projects.  (A note about yard sales: Often if you visit the yard sale in the morning and see a lot of books, you can ask the owner that if they don’t sell the books by the end of the day, you would be happy to come back and see them donated to a literacy program. Most people will donate their books because they might have been ready to throw them away anyway.)  

 As a comment: Once the exchanges are in place, the program does very well on its own and seems to continue without much additional work for collections. However, it is always fun to expand and expand. The more books in circulation, the more effect the project will have.  Remember: A closed book is nothing more than a paperweight and an open book is an endless adventure.

• Goal is to establish an exchange box, one box for each age group in at least one location and grow from there

• Boxes should be located in public places that have easy access
  • Libraries (School and Public)
  • Schools (Public and Private)
  • Recreation Centers, Youth Centers
  • Medical Waiting Rooms
  • Court Waiting Rooms 
• Box size approximately 18 x 18 x 16 (Used boxes can be found at furniture stores, grocery stores. New boxes can be found at U-Haul as this is one of their standard sizes. Also UPS Stores and the USPS have boxes.  Used boxes do work great because they can be wrapped in gift wrap paper and made to look very exciting and no one knows that they were an old box.) As a note: Some of our Teen Exchange Boxes are not actually boxes. We have been able to use baskets and they look great, too!     

• Design of boxes-baskets:  It is recommended to wrap each box in colorful paper, such as construction paper or wrapping paper.   Cut out cute pictures, age appropriate, to cover your boxes or, if using a basket, use bows or colorful signs to create attention. 

• Signage: Signs should clearly state the “Rules” of the exchange that you establish. We state clearly that this is “Easy to participate. Rules—For each book you would like to read in this box, please leave a book in its place. There are no fees or checkout required.  Enjoy!” We still find that more books are taken than are replaced in particular locations, but this is okay too because that means there are more books in people’s hands and that is the goal of the project.  Our signs also include information about how to contact us and how to get involved in the program.

• Boxes should contain an assortment of books

• Labeling books are recommended to be labeled with "Leave a Book-Take a Book" stickers to distinguish books from library books and to spread awareness of A.P.P.L.E. and how to contact organizers

• Boxes should be monitored by an A.P.P.L.E. team member weekly or monthly as needed (Process includes updating books with labels, insuring assortment by moving books around or adding new books, checking for age-appropriateness and mending any books that may need attention. This can be done by branch organizers, volunteers or from members of the Teen Reading and Writing Club.)

Promotion of the Exchange:

How to get the “Word Out” about Your Book Exchange

Coordinate your plan with school librarians, teachers, and library or community literacy teams and present to them your ideas. Approvals are usually needed by School Superintendents to implement in school libraries and library staff to implement into public libraries. Business owners and judges will also need to give their permission before starting a book exchange in those locations. 

• Promotional tools:  (We have found these to be very helpful in our project promotions. Here is some of what we have done.)
  • Newspapers Articles
  • Radio Public Service Announcements 
  • Public Television Appearances
  • Visit classes in the schools
  • Schedule times to visit public library reading times
  • Present to others the process and get them involved-such as other youth groups and community groups like Kiwanis
  • Write letters that can be sent home to parents of school children in our school letting them know about Take a Book – Leave a Book.  (Be certain to get letter approved first by school officials)  
  • At the Recreation Center, present to the after-school program, motivating kids to participate
  • Create t-shirts with APPLE information
  • Make many community appearances such as a booth at a 4th of July celebration or school sporting events

If you start a book exchange in your area, let us know!  We would like to see our program expand and we will be happy to mention it on our website.   We also have a manual and starter kit CD that contains much information, plus signage for your boxes. We are here to help!      CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR OUR comprehensive manual--free! 

 APPLE PROGRAM MANUAL