"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." — Frederick Douglass
The Bright Red Bookshelf program recirculates gently used children's books back into the community where they are made available free for families to own. Books are collected through book drives organized by service groups, congregations and campus organizations. These books are sorted, cleaned and affixed with a label, then set out on bright red bookshelves at sites where children who need and want them will have easy access to them.
Book ownership is important in fostering an interest in reading and a love for books. If parents are to read to their children, they need the books to do so. Children feel pride in owning their own books. They develop confidence in reading and acquire mastery when books are easily within reach and can be read again and again.
The Bright Red Bookshelf was created by the Family Reading Partnership in Ithaca, NY in 1997.