There has been much debate in recent years about the value of printed books in the age of rapidly expanding digital media. Librarians advocate preserving many types of books in their classic shape and form while exploring newer digital formats for others—but my experience at Project Cicero’s Annual Book Drive this past weekend reinforces to me the power of the printed word.

Imagine this scenario: You are one of the many classroom teachers working in an under-resourced public school in New York City. While textbooks must be provided by the city, copies of Harry Potter orThe Cat in the Hat are not. Teachers must delve into their paychecks to expose their students to these treasured titles. In addition, many schools do not have libraries, and their students have minimal access to books at home, much less tablets and laptop computers.

On the other side, many New Yorkers’ voracious reading habits overfill their bookshelves with more titles than can be contained.

However, if you bring these two groups together, you have the uniquely resourceful Project Cicero. Project Cicero was initiated at the Library in 2001 to create or supplement school and classroom libraries for children in under-resourced New York City schools. In the past 13 years, Project Cicero has distributed nearly two million new and gently used books to 10,000 New York City classrooms and libraries, reaching an estimated 400,000 students. Project Cicero receives donations from individuals, families, and corporations, as well more than 100 private, public and parochial schools. It also benefits from generous contributions from many book publishers. Many of you have donated your own beloved children’s books at the Library each March. Project Cicero is named in honor of the Roman writer, statesman, orator and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero, who created extensive libraries in the first century BC.

This past weekend, 1,200 teachers from all over New York City traveled to the Pennsylvania Hotel across from Madison Square Garden to select books at our annual event. Hundreds of student, parent and teacher volunteers assisted all weekend sorting and distributing the books. Project Cicero has no paid staff, and the majority of our physical resources are donated by community partners.

I often describe the event as “organized chaos,” as hundreds of dedicated volunteers stage and sort more than 150,000 books each year while scheduled groups of book-hungry teachers select titles around them. I compare the awe of the teachers as they enter a ballroom full of books—painstakingly sorted by subject and reading level—to that of the proverbial kid in a candy shop. Beyond these simple phrases, it is difficult to put into words all of the sentiments of the event. We do, however, receive many notes from teachers thanking us for our efforts and describing the remarkable impact of these books on their students.

One teacher writes, "Thank you so much for the books. Not only have they enhanced my library, but they have made my room a wonderful print-rich environment for my students. My kids are reading all the time and even use the library at lunch! I've never seen anything like it in my classroom.”

Other teachers share:

"I love to see my students touch all of the new books as we organize our classroom library. It's an amazing program--I just wish I could take more books!"

"Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity. Project Cicero has re-energized me as a teacher!"

However, my favorite letter was written by an anonymous student a few years back who simply writes, “...we love the books and never want to lose them.”

So when faced with the now-proverbial question, “Do printed books really matter?” I will always respond that they most certainly do.