"This is an incredibly simple way for people all over the United States, especially college students, to contribute to the rebuilding efforts in Southern Asia," said Xavier Helgesen, CIO and co-founder of Better World Books. "All of our existing customers will receive a pre-paid shipping label with their orders. They just need to gather up used textbooks and send them to us. We'll sell them, with the all the proceeds after expenses used to ensure that the children of Sri Lanka will one day be able to return to the safe haven a school can provide."The company has posted information on its website, www.betterworldbooks.com. Better World Books is specifically requesting used text books, and is discouraging donations of "mass market" novels (such as Danielle Steel, etc.) that have little resale value.

Any subject-appropriate books that cannot be sold to support the effort will be donated to literacy programs in sub-Saharan Africa through Books for Africa, another non-profit literacy partner of Better World Books."We know that we're in a unique position to help rebuild schools in Sri Lanka," said Jeff Kurtzman, CFO and co-founder of Better World Books. "In the past three years we've led book drives on more than 300 college campuses across the country. We've received more than 600,000 book donations and are experts at selling books at their highest value and getting the proceeds into the hands of proven non-profit literacy organizations in local neighborhoods and third world countries. We know we can help make a big impact in Sri Lanka." Better World Books has already supported Room to Read with enough direct contributions to build seven new schools.Since its founding five years ago, Room to Read has worked with over 1,500 communities to set up new schools and libraries. Having worked for five years in Nepal and India, the group had plans to begin work in Sri Lanka starting in 2007.

Recent tragic events accelerated that plan; Room to Read recently announced a slate of rebuilding projects to take place in Sri Lanka over the next 18-24 months. Room to Read has already raised a $100,000 matching grant from its existing donors to spur involvement in its Sri Lankan rebuilding efforts."Our friends at Room to Read have an impressive record of bringing literacy programs to people and places that need their help, so we're thrilled to be helping them with Tsunami reconstruction funding," said Chris Fuchs, COO and co-founder of Better World Books. Better World Books, based in South Bend, Indiana, utilizes the value of the book to fund literacy initiatives in local communities and around the world. Better World Books funded the shipment of more than 500,000 books to the continent of Africa since 2003 and has directly shipped more than 25,000 books directly to Africa through Books for Africa. Over the past two years the company has kept more than 1 million pounds of used books from ending up in landfills.

For more information contact public relations director Jeff Muir at (716) 861-6847 or co-founder Jeff Kurtzman at (512) 565-8093, or visit online at www.betterworldbooks.com. Room to Read's media contact, Bella Burns, can be reached at (415) 561-3331 or online at http://www.roomtoread.org/donate.html..