Instead of getting a fraction of the retail price back for used textbooks, ISU students have an opportunity to donate them to students in developing African countries.

Pages of Promise, a non-profit organization, started collecting used textbooks Monday and will continue collecting until May 6 at several campus locations. The group plans to send them to schools in Africa.

The organization, started by ISU alumnus Keegan Kautzky and Kevin Geiken, senior in performing arts, was founded in September 2004 and has since collected 37,458 books, Geiken said.

Kautzky spent four months in Africa researching poverty, hunger and public health when he noticed a textbook shortage among college students.

“Teachers try and share a few textbooks for the entire class. It’s terrible, because the [African] government does not have enough money to properly fund education,” Kautzky said.

“It’s sad because some of the brightest students there cannot continue their education and break the cycle because they don’t have a chance to learn.”

Based on how the American education system is designed, students can spend about $800 on textbooks that quickly lose their resale value and end up sitting on shelves or getting thrown away, Kautzky said.

“It’s neat when students donate books that are still worth money,” said Amber Herman, member of Pages of Promise and junior in public service and administration in agriculture.

“It is more important to them to donate the books to these students in need than it is to get a few dollars back.”

When the organization was first formed, Geiken said he expected to collect only a couple thousand books. He and Kautzky collected 11,000 textbooks the first semester and have continued to set up donation boxes at the end of each semester.

“I’m surprised with how many books we have collected so far and the response of people getting excited about the organization and the idea,” Geiken said. “I’m impressed with ISU students’ ability and willingness to get behind the cause.”

Students should not donate American history books or books that focus primarily on a specific religion. Religious texts are usable as long as they are based on comparative religions.

“American history will not be of much use to the students, and materials that are designed to get people interested in Christianity or other specific religions can be seen as threatening — communities could refuse to receive our entire shipment,” Kautzky said. “We are trying to rebuild the education, not push religions on people.”

Students can donate textbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, National Geographic magazines and even research journals.

The books, however, are not shipped directly to Africa from Ames.

The collection of donated textbooks is first shipped to St. Paul, Minn., where Books for Africa, the largest shipper of donated school books to the African continent, has a warehouse, according to the Books for Africa Web site. The organization sends the books to developing countries based on the need, Geiken said.

Pages of Promise has no contact with African students or recipients of the donations.

Books for Africa keeps in contact with the schools in need of textbooks.

About 13 donation boxes are located at places around campus such as Ross Hall, Jischke Honors Building, Kildee Hall, Beardshear Hall and in every residence hall, among others.

Herman said the group has received support from professors as well as students.

Students can volunteer to help pick up boxes May 5 and 6. Contact Kevin Geiken, [email protected], for details on volunteer opportunities.