Blue Willow Spearheads Hurricane Ike Book Drive

Houston's Blue Willow Bookshop has begun a nationwide book drive to restock the shelves in three school libraries that lost most of their collections due to Hurricane Ike. The store is encouraging booksellers, publishers, and book lovers to join the campaign to provide literature and reference materials as soon as possible.

"When there has been so much disruption in these students' lives, it is gratifying to know that their libraries will be able to function as centers of respite," said Valerie Koehler, Blue Willow Bookshop's owner. "We all know how important it is for children to have ready access to books for their continued academic success as well as emotional well being."

With the help of store staff, area student organizations, and scout troops, Koehler hopes to collect more than a thousand books by December 1 to deliver to Anahuac High School, Alief Hastings 9th Grade Center, and Brazosport Intermediate School.

"While we know many more schools were affected, we made contact with these specific schools immediately after Ike," said Blue Willow's children's specialist Cathy Berner. "Both high schools lost their entire graphic novel sections, which had just been purchased this fall. As a former school librarian, I know the challenging task of assembling a collection, and recovery from an event like this can be tough. We are hopeful that our friends in the Houston-area community and in the book community at large will be able to aid these three schools and be receptive to helping the myriad of schools who are just now able to assess their collections and communicate their needs."

The specific needs of each school and ways to help are available on the Blue Willow Bookshop website's Hurricane Ike Library Relief page.