NEW SPRINGVILLE — Barnes and Noble gave nearly 4,000 books collected during their annual holiday book drive to libraries around Staten Island, part of Borough President James Molinaro's "Readers are Leaders" program.
Over 40 schools around the borough will be donated books.
"It's a huge success," Molinaro said at the store's Staten Island location on Richmond Avenue Thursday. "It's a great program."
During the drive, when customers buy a book at the store they're asked to purchase another one to be donated. Barnes and Noble has collected more than 14,000 books since they started the drive four years ago, said Joan Correala, community relations manager for the store.
Correala said that each store picks where their collected books will go.
"We want kids to read, and some kids don't have the opportunity to own their own book," she said. "If somebody walks away and they have an opportunity to read a book, it might stimulate something."
During his tenure as borough president, Molinaro said he put a large focus on giving kids access to books and funded more than $7 million in renovations of several school libraries to make it easier for students to learn to read.
"You've got to make it as convenient for them as possible and as easy as possible," Molinaro said.
"Everything comes out of a book. It's like a magic carpet, you can go wherever you want," he said.
