The Book Ark Project

The Story of the Book Ark Project

The Book Ark project is an extension of children's company ADC Kid, www.adckid.com (also www.facebook.com/adckid, www.instagram.com/adckid) and a Camden based non profit Camden County Pop Up Library, www.camdencountypopuplibrary.org.

Davon Clark of ADC Kid and Tom Martin of CCPUL both have a passion for promoting literature throughout urban areas. ADC Kid is a children's multimedia company combating inequality in education, and bringing diversity to literacy and media. CCPUL is an organization which takes books where libraries don't go and gives them away. 90% of their books are given away in Camden, NJ and about 10% are given away in Philadelphia, PA. For more information please check out their web sites or pages.

The Book Ark project came about through a discussion between Davon and Tom, with hopes of giving youth and adults 24/7 access to literacy within the city of Camden, NJ. They both noticed that Little Libraries where popping up all over, however it seemed like few were making their way into urban locations. Realizing this dilemma, Tom reached out to Townsend Press and Dr. John Martin to help with bringing accessible literacy to Camden. Townsend Press (www.TownsendPress.com) agreed to aid in underwriting the cost for supplies in regards to the Arks, while Dr. John Martin jumped on board to design and build them. Within a few weeks, the first Book Ark was completed, delivered and installed in a trailer community in Gloucester City. The Ark is now being managed by the world's most interesting teenager Nataly Colin. For more information regarding Nataly click here --> (Links to Courier Post and Fox 29)

Nonetheless, the Book Ark project is an initiative to fill communities which lack access to a public library in Camden, NJ with books. In a city filled with 74,532 people (according to the census in 2017) there are only (2) public libraries which sit in Camden. The Ferry Avenue Library located in Centerville and Nilsa Cruz-Perez Library which sits on Rutgers University's Campus. Outside of these (2) public libraries and local schools there are no other places for people to go to catch up on reading in the city until now. The Book Arks are currently located in (8) locations throughout Camden County -

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