“The America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

We are living in uncertain times with many unknowns. Across the country, access to books, libraries, and trustworthy information are under threat. In our small slice of the world, Access Books strives to create welcoming spaces with an abundance of interesting books. We want to give students whatever it is they are seeking: adventure, fantasy, intellectual stimulation, or, simply, calm. To this end, we filled the shelves of elementary and middle school libraries throughout the fall. We also connected students with their favorite authors and distributed books for home libraries.
This semester, nearly 1,000 volunteers distributed approximately 77,000 books for school, classroom, and home libraries.

Among our other activities:
8 school libraries were refurbished. Books published in the 1950s were weeded and replaced with current, interesting titles.
7,700 students received bundles of 6-8 books to add to their growing home library for winter break. Nearly 40,000 books are now in home libraries.
6,000 books were provided for a new middle school library in Compton.
2,400 students met an author and received a book.
500 books were distributed to book clubs.
Dozens of parents participated in literacy workshops and received take-home libraries.
4 podcasts were produced through our partnership with Kitty Felde.
2,300 books were distributed internationally to orphans in Mexico and girls in Afghanistan

And our work is never done! Access Books currently has 19 volunteer opportunities on our calendar for winter and spring 2025. Sign up for one (or two or three) today!

We are also looking for board members. If you place a high value on children’s literacy and libraries, considering helping Access Books realize its mission by joining our Board. Email rebecca@accessbooks.net if interested.

Access Books is committed, more than ever, to providing children a refuge filled with books and acceptance. We want to thank our many volunteers, great staff, and dedicated donors. During these challenging times, books, reading, and libraries are more important and vital than ever. We believe that all children ― regardless of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status ― have the right to an educational environment that fosters a love of reading. Study after study has shown that students who read more do better, not just academically, but in life. Every child deserves to discover the joy and benefits of reading for pleasure.

Not long after wildfires devastated Los Angeles, Brooke Travis, a New York City parent and community organizer, reached out to Access Books. 

“I knew that once the urgency subsided and the news cycle moved on, many parents, children, and teachers would need help,” she told us. “One crucial effort would be rebuilding their libraries.”  

Brooke hoped to send a few hundred books for classroom and home libraries. Soon, her efforts grew, and hundreds of East Coast families started collecting books to send to Los Angeles. The first week of February, Steinway Moving delivered a truckload of books to our warehouse. 

Meanwhile, Access Books joined forces with local bookstore Children’s Book World to assist with efforts to get books into children’s homes and temporary classrooms. The bookstore staff worked with the Children’s Book Council and several publishers including Random House, Scholastic, Sourcebooks, Candlewick, and Chronicle Books to obtain new books. Word spread quickly and Angelenos, eager to help, provided thousands of gently used books. 

On February 15th, roughly 50 volunteers spent the morning organizing nearly 21,000 books for fire-affected school communities and other schools served by Access Books. After organizing the books, volunteers loaded cars, trucks, and SUVs to deliver to school sites.

“This has been amazing,” said an Alameda Arts parent volunteer. “There are so many terrific books and it is just what we need to start feeling normal again.”

Fire-affected schools served included Odyssey Elementary, Odyssey Middle, Alameda Arts, Elliot Middle, and Don Benito Elementary. While Don Benito didn’t burn, the school population has grown by 40% as a result of displaced students in the community.

We also provided bookshelves to classrooms without them. By all accounts, the donated books are providing a welcome distraction.

“Ever since the delivery of Access Books, our students have been voraciously reading their way through the shelves and shelves of high-quality, high-interest books,” said a teacher at Alameda Arts. “Their favorites so far are the ‘Spy School’ series and graphic novels galore!”

Thanks again to our amazing book drive partners and tireless volunteers. The road to fire recovery will be long and challenging, but giving students the escape and comfort of a good book is something we can do now.

We’ve given more than 59,000 books this semester! From book drives to book clubs, library refurbishments to fire relief books, we’re spreading books like seeds all over Southern California. The rain is finally abating and we can see literacy blooming in our schools and communities. And we’re not done yet! We have eight remaining service events on our calendar for the spring. Join us!

As always, thanks to our amazing army of volunteers, small but mighty staff, and generous donors. We couldn’t do it without you!

On May 3rd, 2025, we’re taking students to Santa Monica for YALLWEST, an annual book festival featuring New York Times bestselling authors along with local and acclaimed young adult and middle grade writers, plus notable TV, film, video game, and comic creators. We’re bringing busloads of children from Compton, South Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, and other underserved Los Angeles neighborhoods. For many, a trip to Santa Monica for YALLWEST will be their only spring break. Between the political climate and immigration crackdowns, times are tense for children in these communities. Let’s give them a memorable day, filled with rock star writers, inspiring artists, and unforgettable books. 

We need your support to cover transportation, lunch, tote bags, and bundles of books by authors at the event. Please consider sponsoring a student to attend.

With a busy spring semester behind us, we’re taking solace in the support we’ve provided to children experiencing uncertainty and trauma. From the urban wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles County to fast-changing government policies impacting vulnerable communities, the Access Books team is working to provide a safe escape and relaxing environment for those who need it most.

“I read every book I’m given,” one student told us. “They are my favorite thing in the world.” Another student added: “I always feel calm in the library. It is my favorite spot.”
Our spring semester began with tragedy as fires raged in communities we serve alongside communities that frequently run book drives and volunteer with us. Once the smoke cleared and children were returning to school, the Access Books network was ready to provide refuge and escape. Our volunteers and donors (including staff at our donated warehouse and a group of NYC moms) helped us sort and distribute nearly 21,000 books to schools and families. While coordinating this, we kept our usual busy library refurbishment schedule.

During the spring semester, we refurbished eight school libraries across southern California — from East Los Angeles to Orange County. Most of the schools we serve have collections with books dating back to the 1980s. At many schools, the Access Books team assisted the library aide to weed the collection, discarding outdated titles and tattered books. Hundreds of volunteers assisted in painting murals, cataloging, and shelving books.

In addition, thanks to 50 hard-working volunteers, 6,603 books were distributed in curated bundles to nearly 2200 children. For many students we serve, these are the only books they will own.

In all, we provided nearly 81,000 books and served more than 10,000 students.
One of our most popular programs is author visits. We are fortunate to work with engaging, fun, and committed authors. At each visit, students receive at least one book written by the author. The excitement around author visits is school-wide. In the spring semester, we hosted nineteen author visits for nearly 1400 students.

The semester ended with an all-day event for approximately 400 Access Books-sponsored students at the YALLWEST book festival. “YALLWEST is the first time our students get to experience being totally surrounded by people as excited and enthusiastic about books as they are,” one librarian told us. “These are the kids that have deeply-held favorite authors, series, and genres. They relish the opportunity to talk about their favorites with other like-minded readers and are beyond thrilled to meet authors in person. What a joy to be able to bring them to YALLWEST and receive books to take home with them!”

Looking ahead…

Despite the tumult around us, our mission remains strong: educational equity and access to high quality books. Want to show your support? We have several volunteer opportunities on deck this summer:

Warehouse Book Sorting
Help us prepare for the fall semester by organizing brand new books into school library sets. You’ll get a sneak preview of all the amazing books we’re giving to students in underserved communities. Join us!

Compton School Libraries
We will be in Compton schools all summer Monday – Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1:00 pm. This is a great opportunity to make a small change in our world. High school students may count volunteer hours toward the Congressional Award.

Thanks to all of our volunteers, donors, and dedicated staff. We couldn’t do it without you!

Finally, we want to say goodbye and big congrats to our high school senior volunteers — many of whom have volunteered with us since middle school!

• Dhilen Mistry will be a regent’s scholar at UC Berkeley.
  Orlando Popkin is headed to Oberlin College to study and play soccer.
  Lucy Row will be volunteering at a teen camp in Romania over the summer followed by a 3-month internship at a Human Rights NGO in Morocco. She will pursue double degrees in Law and International Relations in Australia later this year.
  Ximena Morales will study art history at Loyola Marymount University
  Sabine Sines will study marine biology at UCLA.

It takes a village to build a library!

When children read, they discover new places and new ideas. They develop literacy skills they will continue to use as they make their way through high school and beyond. To encourage youth literacy, Access Books partnered with the LA Times to create this bilingual guide for parents and educators.