ASU Libraries collects books for China quake victims

ASU Libraries is calling on local schools, individuals and organizations to donate new and used English-language materials to help rebuild school libraries in China’s Sichuan Province, site of the 8.0 earthquake that shook that region May 12.

As of May 22, the death toll stood at 51,151 and another 288,431 people were injured. The quake destroyed many schools and thousands of other buildings.

As a partner of leading Chinese university libraries, the ASU Libraries plans to send the books to Juyuan Middle School in Dujiangyan City, Sichuan. That school, now operating in tents, lost 278 students and six teachers in the quake. ASU’s sister institution and strategic partner Sichuan University (SCU) is located 60 miles away from the epicenter of the earthquake.

The ASU Libraries are partnering with the University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) on this drive. ASU university librarian Sherrie Schmidt and ULS director Rush Miller, along with other ULS personnel, will travel to China in September to present some of the books to school officials.

Donated materials – books, CDs and DVDs in literature, history, science and the arts – must be in good condition and appropriate for children in grades 7-12.

Materials or boxes should be marked “Rebuilding School Libraries, Sichuan Earthquake” and can be brought to any of the following ASU Libraries: Hayden Library, Noble Science and Engineering Library, and Music Library on the Tempe campus; the Library at the Downtown Phoenix campus; the Library at the Polytechnic campus; and Fletcher Library at the West campus. Donations will be accepted through Aug. 15.

Those needing more information or assistance with their donation can call (480) 965-3417.