Thought Overflow…Golda’s BlogIf memes are like genes, then having a conversation in which you share ideas and come up with new ones is like…?

Archives

Archive for July, 2010

Books, language, reading are so foundational to everything that it doesn’t seem to need saying. I’ve been thinking for some time of a site that would be ‘books-please.com’ or something similar, for people to donate books to other individuals.

This site is not exactly what I was thinking of, but close. Found it from a Rafe Esquith video on Youtube. Seems worth checking out. If its good, will post the details on http://bteaching.com
—–
update: looked at the site, while the causes they support seem positive, I’m really looking for something much less scripted and controlled. For instance they have a program specifically giving African-themed stories (“Tinga Tinga tails”) to schools in East Africa. This is all right, but it feels to me a bit patronizing; and ‘Conspiracy for Good’ which is a sort of live drama but it is unclear to me from reading it what part, if any, of the story is true? I am not saying not to support http://wegivebooks.org, it is certainly doing good and is getting the job done of delivering thousands of books where they are needed! I am only thinking that at some point I would like to see a person-to-person solution that helps people give specific books that they feel are valuable, and helps others get books they specifically want (whether or not the solution involves supporting libraries or clearinghouses).

When I talked several years ago to the owner of a company involved with maquiladoras in Mexico, he was not interested in discussing living standards or wages of his employees, but expressed willingness to donate to a local library. It may be that US companies operating overseas could be tapped to donate to libraries in the areas where they operate. This particular company was a client of mine, thus I had at least one time access to speak to the owner, but I find that following the five-F policy (Fair, Fast, Friendly, Factual, Frank) it is often possible to get a short conversation even with very busy and important people.

* I read of the five-F’s many years ago in a public relations book, but I think they apply in many other contexts as well.