I was just informed about this website, www.FilltheShelves.org, developed and managed by some indie writers I know online.  I am writing this post to encourage my readers who have a little extra cash and who want to support school libraries to do what they can to donate a book or two (or more!) through this site.

How it works

In essence, each library needing books signs up with the website.  Then the library goes to Amazon and creates a wishlist of books for its school.  The website then provides people like you who want to help a link to the library's wishlist.  You click on the link on the website, and get brought to Amazon where you can click to add books they want to your shopping cart, buy them, and have them shipped directly to the school.

The website touches no money.  It does make money on advertising affiliate links, but then they use that money each month to buy MORE books for the schools.  They do this work of managing this website and signing up more libraries for free, for the love of reading. Yay, you generous indie writers!

Some of these libraries are nearly EMPTY of books.  It's horrible!  You can see pictures of their shelves on the websites with just a few books on each.  It's just an outrage to me that a hugely progressive and well-off country like the United States has this going on.  We need to feed our kids' minds and imaginations, and one of the best ways to do that is with books!

I became a writer only after being a reader.  My love of reading started as a child with big book with pictures in them and continued on with classics like The Phantom Tollbooth and The Hobbit.  You'll find books just like these on the wishlists.  Won't you help feed the minds of future readers, and maybe help one of them someday, become a writer too?

If you know of libraries in need of new books, please send them to the site to sign up too.  It's FREE!