Donate A Copy Context

August 26, 2011 / Cory Doctorow

A word to teachers, librarians, and people who want to donate money to me

Every time I put a book online for free, I get emails from readers who want to send me donations for the book. I appreciate their generous spirit, but I’m not interested in cash donations, because my publishers are really important to me. They contribute immeasurably to the book, improving it, introducing it to audiences I could never reach, helping me do more with my work. I have no desire to cut them out of the loop.

But there has to be some good way to turn that generosity to good use, and I think I’ve found it.

Here’s the deal: there are lots of teachers and librarians who’d love to get hard-copies of this book into their kids’ hands, but don’t have the budget for it (teachers in the US spend around $1,200 out of pocket each on classroom supplies that their budgets won’t stretch to cover, which is why I sponsor a classroom at Ivanhoe Elementary in my old neighborhood in Los Angeles; you can adopt a class yourself here).

There are generous people who want to send some cash my way to thank me for the free ebooks.

I’m proposing that we put them together.

If you’re a teacher or librarian and you want a free copy of Context, email freecontextbook@gmail.com with your name and the name and address of your school. It’ll be posted here by my fantastic helper, Olga Nunes, so that potential donors can see it.

If you enjoyed the electronic edition of Context and you want to donate something to say thanks, go to http://craphound.com/context/donate/ and find a teacher or librarian you want to support. Then go to Amazon, BN.com, or your favorite electronic bookseller and order a copy to the classroom, then email a copy of the receipt (feel free to delete your address and other personal info first!) to freecontextbook@gmail.com so that Olga can mark that copy as sent. If you don’t want to be publicly acknowledged for your generosity, let us know and we’ll keep you anonymous, otherwise we’ll thank you on the donate page.

I’ve done this with five of my titles now, and gotten more than a thousand books into the hands of readers through your generosity. I am more grateful than words can express for this — one of my readers called it “paying your debts forward with instant gratification.” That’s a heck of a thing, isn’t it?

.:: USA

.: Connecticut
1 Copy Needed:
ATT: Garland Walton
Domus Academy
83 Lockwood Ave., Stamford, CT 06902

.: Kansas
1 Copy Needed:
Ben Ropp
Librarian
Wichita Public Library
223 S. Main
Wichita, KS 67202

.: Maryland
1 Copy Needed:
Chelsea School
c/o Rik Goldman
711 Pershing Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20910

1 Copy Needed:
Luqman Clark
Al-Rahmah School
6631 Johnnycake Road
Baltimore, MD 21244

.: Oregon
1 Copy Needed:
Leann O’Rourke
Library Media Teacher
Arts and Communication Magnet Academy
11375 SW Center St
Beaverton, OR 97225

.: Pennsylvania
1 Copy Needed:
Jill Godlewski
Donora Public Library
510 Meldon Avenue
Donora, Pa 15033

.: Utah
1 Copy Needed:
Shawn Bliss, Bookmobile Librarian
Cache County Mobile Library
P.O. Box 63
15 North Main St.
Providence, UT 84332-0063

.:: NORWAY

1 Copy Needed:
Sverre Helge Bolstad
Bergen Public Library
Strømgaten 6
5015 Bergen
Norway

..::: DONATOR LIST

1 Copy Donated by Anonymous Donors
ATT: Adam Burke
Waubonsee Community College
Route 47 at Waubonsee Drive
Sugar Grove,
IL 60554-9454