Donates Over 500 Books to Support Ukrainian Communities
The San José State University School of Information (SJSU) teamed up with the 2025 American Library Association (ALA) conference in Philadelphia, PA to collect books for multiple Little Free Libraries across Ukraine. As part of an existing fundraiser, ALA participants were able to directly donate books to fill the new Little Free Libraries, which serve Ukrainian populations who have lost access to their books and libraries because of the ongoing war. The SJSU Ukraine Team was able to collect over 500 books at the 2025 ALA conference that were sent directly to Ukraine.
Children Draw War, Not Flowers
SJSU was also able to use their booth at ALA to showcase some of the artwork from the traveling exhibition Children Draw War, Not Flowers. These pieces of art were an important reminder of why it is important to collect books for children who are subjected to living through war. Most the books collected at the 2025 ALA conference were for children as early literacy is critical for becoming a confident reader once children reach school age. Research from OECD PISA (2000–2012) found that students who had access to at least 100 books at home had better scores in literacy, math, and science. Part of why this fundraiser is so important is to get access to a greater number of books to the young population of Ukraine to ensure that the war does not derail their education completely.
ALA International Leads Round Table Publication
The work that SJSU’s Ukraine Team accomplished at the 2025 ALA conference was noted in the ALA International Leads Round Table publication Vol. 39, No 3. See below for full article.
You can find the full edition of the publication here:
International Leads_ALA_2025 FULL
Ukraine Book Drive ALA 2025
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