Solutions from Ukraine: book lover donates over 200 books to libraries in frontline and liberated regions

Kateryna Branytska, a reader of Rubryka, donated 250 books to volunteer Oleksandr Sapronov, who will send them to schools, village, and city libraries in the front-line regions and recently liberated territories.

Rubryka's article motivated her.

"I didn't see the point in sending less."

On June 26, Rubryka shared the story of a volunteer who gathers books for libraries that last updated their collections in certain areas in 2013. Oleksandr Sapronov, a teacher and avid reader, used to sell his own books after reading them but eventually opted to explore a different approach.

Once, in the "Book Flea Market" Facebook community, Oleksandr announced that he was ready to hand over two dozen of his books to a library from the frontline regions.

"About 40 libraries responded, and I felt a little uncomfortable that I could only help one. That's why I wrote a post on my Facebook page, stating that I have library contacts and am ready to collect some more books. At first, my most optimistic thought was to collect at least 50 more books for two libraries. But the plan was exceeded, and I have been working in this direction for almost a year and a half," the teacher says.

During this period, Oleksandr gathered and donated over seven thousand books to libraries. After reading about his work in Rubryka's article, Kateryna Branytska, a book enthusiast from Lutsk, was motivated to follow his lead. She realized she could also contribute to Oleksandr's cause and make a difference.

"Most of my friends read, and I have a book club. That's why my goal was to collect at least 50 books. Because I didn't see the point in sending less. I wrote in all the chats where I am. Condominium chat, work chats, chats with friends, chat with the neighboring office. And I threatened her friends that I would add them to blocklists," the girl shares.

^{Kateryna Branytska with some of the books she collected for libraries. Photo from Kateryna's archive}

Then, according to Kateryna, her excitement came into play – after collecting the planned 50 books, she realized she could double the amount collected.

"I pushed to 100; that's how it went. And when I was almost out of books at 200, I reminded myself that I simply had to deal with it. If it weren't for my business trip, I would have continued to "knock out" from book people. Like a real collector," the book lover laughs.

"Some 7-8 libraries will definitely be happy with these books."

Ultimately, Kateryna was able to send Oleksandr 80 kilograms of books, which equated to exactly 200 books. The editorial team at Rubryka also contributed 18 books after hearing about this initiative from one of their readers. Additionally, a few more individuals responded to Kateryna's plea and sent around 30 books independently.

Oleksandr says that he has received large book parcels from like-minded people before, but this is the first time in such a quantity.

Олександр каже, що отримував великі книжкові посилки від однодумців і раніше, але вперше в такій кількості.

"We usually send around 30 books to one library at a time, so somewhere around 7-8 libraries will definitely be happy with these books. Especially since the books are 100% high-quality and necessary – they are fiction, children's literature, and books by famous authors such as Dashvar, Kokotiukha, and Talan. This is something that will definitely be read more than once. I am very grateful!

Some firms or companies periodically organize meetings among their employees and give me books. But this is the first time on such a scale," Oleksandr says.

Now, the volunteer plans to sort the books and send them to school, village, and city libraries in the front-line regions and liberated territories—from the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions in the North to the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions in the South.

Kateryna Branytska, summing up this story, says:

"Books should live. Books are created for reading. Now you can easily find contacts of various libraries on the Internet and send books to them, you can even bring them to your local library. There are charity sales where all the money goes to Ukraine's armed forces. And sometimes you can just give books to friends so that they have something to read. The main thing is that the books live, not collect dust."

For reference:

The material that motivated Kateryna to compile the book can be found via the link.