Archive for the ‘A Word from the PBS Team’ Category
Life Lessons
Wednesday, June 11th, 2014Dear Members,
Richard and
Books for Schools 2013!
Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013
It is with great pleasure we announce the kick-off of the
2013 Books for Schools Donation Campaign
Each year PaperBackSwap, through our generous members, donate brand-new new books to selected deserving elementary schools across the country. The goal of the program is to provide children with books that they can read for pleasure. As you know, most of us learned the love of reading at an early age, and this is a great opportunity to share that joy. In the past three years PaperBackSwap and our members have donated over 70,000 new books to elementary schools. This year our goal is to provide at least 20,000 more books.
To make a donation of credits or PaperBackSwap money (which will be used to defray some of the shipping costs) click on the picture above or HERE to go to the donations page.
Let’s put books in the hands of children. Together PaperBackSwap and our wonderful members can make a difference!
New Book Specials for the Week of November 11th, 2013
Thursday, November 14th, 2013Welcome to The Spotlight, your inside scoop on extraordinary new-book deals!
These new books have been chosen by the PaperBackSwap Team because they are some of the best bargains in our Market, and they’re less expensive than Amazon. Quantities are limited!
This Week’s Featured Thriller (in Large Print)
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Two Graves (Large Print) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child After his wife, Helen, is brazenly abducted before his eyes, Special Agent Pendergast furiously pursues the kidnappers… read more Retail Price: $28.99 New in the PBS Market (Hardcover): $3.69+1 credit (save 87%) or $7.59 (save 73%) |
This Week’s Featured Mystery Novel
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Valley of Ashes by Cornelia Read Madeline Dare trades New York’s gritty streets for the tree-lined avenues of Boulder, Colorado. But her new home isn’t nearly as tranquil as it seems…read more Retail Price: $26.99 New in the PBS Market (Hardcover): $5.19+1 credit (save 80%) or $9.09 (save 66%) |
This Week’s Featured Biography
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Don’t Put Me In, Coach! My Incredible Journey from the end of Ohio State’s Bench to the End of Ohio State’s Bench by Mark Titus An irreverent, hilarious insider’s look at big-time NCAA basketball, through the eyes of the nation’s most famous benchwarmer… read more Retail Price: $24.95 New in the PBS Market (Hardcover): $3.59+1 credit (save 85%) or $7.49 (save 69%) |
This Week’s Featured Audio Book (Christian Fiction)
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Predator by Terri Blackstock. Narrated by Cassandra Campbell The murder of Krista Carmichael’s fourteen-year-old sister by an online predator has shaken her faith. Desperate to find the killer, she creates an online persona as bait… read more Retail Price: $32.99 New in the PBS Market (Audio CD: 8 discs, 9 hrs): $4.99+1 credit (save 84%) or $8.89 (save 73%) |
This Week’s Featured Crafting Book
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The Hand-Knitters Yarn Guide by Nikki Gabriel This essential at-a-glance reference book is for every knitter at any level. It includes yarn swatches and a comprehensive encyclopedia… read more Retail Price: $24.99 New in the PBS Market (Paperback): $2.89+1 credit (save 88%) or $6.79 (save 72%) |
This Week’s Featured Literary Novel (Pulitzer Prize-Winner)
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The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson An epic novel, a thrilling literary discovery and winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, The Orphan Master’s Son follows a young man’s journey… read more Retail Price: $26.00 New in the PBS Market (Hardcover): $3.59+1 credit (save 86%) or $7.49 (save 71%) |
This Week’s Featured Romance
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Ruthless Heart by Emma Lang Sheltered all her life, Eliza Hunter never imagined herself alone in the vast Utah plains with a mysterious, rugged man… read more Retail Price: $14.00 New in the PBS Market (Paperback): $2.29+1 credit (save 83%) or $6.19 (save 55%) |
| Three ways to save even more on new books at PaperBackSwap.com! |
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| 1. Get FREE books for one PBS Book Credit + shipping |
| 2. Get new books directly from the Publisher |
| 3. Get New Overstock books at great discounted prices |
Books for Schools 2012 – William E. Russell School
Thursday, January 3rd, 2013
On Friday, December 21, 2012 one of our wonderful Tour Guide Leaders, Robin K. (jubead), volunteered to personally hand out some of the 1,000 books that were donated by our generous members to the William E. Russell School through the Books for Schools 2012 program.
Robin was greeted by Principal Blake, who was very grateful to our PBS members, for the donations that made this possible. 
Robin read a book to a second grade class. The book she chose to read was Dora’s Eggs by Julie Sykes. Just one of the wonderful, brand new books that were delivered to the school just in time for Christmas.
Thank you Robin, and all of our PBS members for donating to William B. Russell School and for putting books in the hands of our children!
If you know of an elementary school in need, suggest it here so we can consider it for Books for Schools 2013.
Books For Schools – Book Delivery Brings Smiles to Dunbar Elementary Students!
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
Dunbar Elementary Students
By Leslie P. (PBSLeslie)
Sometimes it is really nice to see something all the way to the end. We had an opportunity to do just that this week when we delivered books to Dunbar Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia. We love our Books for Schools program, there’s no doubt. Sending 25,000 new books all over the country this January is an amazing accomplishment. But having the chance to actually see some of the students, and see their faces light up and the excitement in their eyes makes it really special. As in “yes, that is a tear in my eye, now please hand me a tissue” special, know what I mean?
As I was describing the program and gift of books, I thought I was doing a pretty good job of engaging the children. I thought to myself, “Hey, I’m really wowing these kids with my little speech today…look how happy they are!” It turns out it was Deana who was wowing them as she (slightly behind me and to my left) was showing them all the different books we had brought with us. There were “oohs” and “aahs” and lots of smiles.
Ms. Beck with a new stack of books!
Dunbar Elementary was featured in our November 2011 Books for Schools program, Paul Dunbar Elementary – Atlanta, GA and had a goal of 1,000 books. They were nominated by the nonprofit organization, Everybody Wins! Atlanta, which serves the school by providing a weekly “Power Lunch” mentoring program and also a live Storyteller Program. The 1,000 books donated by PaperBackSwap (through our member’s generosity) will be used in the Power Lunch Program, according to Terri Beck, Executive Director of Everybody Wins! Atlanta. She, along with Allyn Howard, Program Director, met us at the school to accept the books. They were so thrilled to see all the books we had brought and declared them exactly what they needed for the mentor and student reading sessions! Nicole Corely, who works at Dunbar Elementary as a program coordinator with Communities in Schools of Atlanta, was also there to welcome us and introduce us to the students.
Please know that your donations do make a difference and are appreciated! Along with our books, we are also sending an important message of kindness, giving, and the love of reading. Years from now these students may no longer have the actual books we sent, but with luck, they will still have this message in their hearts.
L to R Nicole Corley, Leslie Price-Bennett, Allyn Howard, Deana Fulbright, Dunbar Students
In Celebration of our Wonderful Volunteers – Message from the PBS Team
Monday, January 9th, 2012Volunteers are the HEART of PBS
by Deana F. (PBSDeana)
We have a small internal Team, so we depend on our volunteers to help us keep the site running smoothly for everyone. They help us make sure we have correct book information, images, track games, and help new members to the site find their way around. We are proud to say we have over 500 volunteers!
PBS Volunteers By the Numbers:
Book Data Correctors – 163
Book Data Approvers – 30
Book Data Coordinators – 2
Editing book data involves the important work of correcting mistakes in the PBS database. They correct everything from author name, title, and genre to providing more thorough book descriptions for us. They also determine abridged or unabridged versions of audio books, plus much more. Having the right information is crucial on a site like ours, and this detailed work is very much appreciated.
Book Image Collection Volunteers – 228
Book Image Collection Approvers – 17
Book Image Collection coordinators – 3
The Book Image Collection team helps do away with the ugly, boring, no-image found, default blue cover. We love to see plenty of colorful book cover images on the site and they do a fantastic job.
Game Moderators – 6
Game Moderator Leader – 2
If there’s anything a PBS member likes as much as reading, it’s playing games with their fellow book-lovers. The Games Mods keep track of all the pending games, credit deposits and keep the fun rolling (or should we say swapping)!
Tour Guides – 91
Tour Guide Leaders – 13
Tour Guide Assistant Coordinators – 3
Tour Guide Coordinator – 1
And last but not least, our wonderful and patient Tour Guides. A tour guide helps new members navigate the site and answer questions as they arise. They also answer the New Member Questions in Live Chat. We feel that providing new members with a tour guide to welcome them and answer questions gives a personal touch and ensures they can start swapping books confidently.
These volunteers put in immeasurable hours of work. The PBS experience is so much richer and more satisfying for all members due to the efforts of our volunteers. We are not just a website about swapping books. Over the years, we’ve become a community for members to share their love of reading, their life experiences and to make new friends both online and in person.
We know how much work goes into all of these projects and we wouldn’t be able to keep up without our tour guides, games mods, book image collectors, and book data correctors. We appreciate your gifts of time, energy and enthusiastic support. I know we don’t say thank you enough to all of our volunteers but please know that we are so grateful to each and every one of you. It truly “takes a village” and we couldn’t do it without you.
We look forward to working with you in the New Year and thank you for making PBS a better place!
Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless,
but because they’re priceless.
~Sherry Anderson
