Bedsidebooks
History
In September 2003, while visiting a nursing home my brother and I were asked to leave the room because the aides were attending our grandfather. While waiting in the day room, we looked around for something to read, but found only a few dull books and magazines. On returning home, we noticed novels that our aunt had left behind. She'd enjoyed them during her flight from California, but now they lay discarded in the living room, of no further use to her and of no interest to anyone else in the house. That led us to the realization that many people were in the same position; they had books they no longer wanted cluttering up their homes. Eventually these books wound up curbside on garbage collection day which meant they were adding volumes to the garbage dumps and landfills of New York City. We conceived of a way to gather unwanted books in the community and place them where they are wanted and needed. The program was named "Bedsidebooks" because most of the residents of the nursing home were bedridden.
Joshua Spiro
Raphael Spiro