Cars, lawnmowers, and tools. Those are items commonly found in garages.

But 8,000 brand-new books?

That’s what you’ll find stored in Associate Vice President for the Center for Professional Studies Richard E. Quest’s garage.

Quest is founder and president of Duffy Books in Homes USA Inc., a not-for-profit literacy program that targets elementary schools with 50 percent or more students living in poverty. The organization secures funding to provide students at those schools with books of their own choosing to promote a love of reading.

Those 8,000 books—a donation from a warehouse in Omaha, Neb.—are being stored by Quest until it’s time to give them away. Recently, members of Corning Community College’s (Quest’s former employer) honor society volunteered to help sort the books according to grade level (elementary, middle and high school), and got through 4,500 of them.

Duffy Books in Homes USA began in early 2008 and currently supports 10 schools in New York (including Read to Me Steuben! Family Literacy Program, part of ProAction of Steuben and Yates Inc., and Riverside Elementary School, part of Elmira City School District) and Pennsylvania.

“Our philosophy is that a hand up, rather than a hand out, is the way to instill in children the value of taking responsibility for their own literacy education,” said Quest.

After a school is identified as a candidate based on its socioeconomic status, sponsors are identified and asked to support half the cost of the Duffy Books in Homes USA program. School districts commit to match the other half through fund raising (for example, bake sales, coupon books, PTA/PTO support), and student involvement is encouraged.

The Duffy Books in Homes program originally started in New Zealand and was inspired by Alan Duff, a New Zealand author, who believes that failures in adult life often stem from childhoods spent in bookless homes. After visiting New Zealand during the summer of 2005 as part of his doctoral studies through the University of Pennsylvania, Quest brought the Duffy Books in Homes program to the United States.

“I went to New Zealand with a group of educators to learn more about the school system reform efforts [in the country] in 1989,” said Quest. “I met the CIO of Mainfreight Inc. (global freight company), Kevin Drinkwater, and he told me about the program, for which Mainfreight is a major sponsor in New Zealand. He and asked me if it would be something we might be interested in the United States, and I told him I was very interested.”

Quest kept in touch with Drinkwater following the trip and learned that Drinkwater had secured funding from CaroTrans Inc. out of New Jersey for Quest, then a principal, to purchase books for the children at his school, Candor Elementary.

“We were able to buy 3,000 books, six books for every child,” said Quest, who added that children selected the books they wanted, which were distributed throughout the year at school-wide assemblies. “It was exciting to give every student the opportunity to own new books. To see the smiles on their faces was fantastic.

“Students need something tangible to pick up and hold, with which to curl up in mom and dad’s lap,” added Quest. “We were helping them build their own libraries at home. And, as Alan Duff said, ‘Children who can’t read grow into adults who can’t communicate.’”

In 2007, Bruce Plested, founder and owner of Mainfreight Inc., flew Quest to New Zealand for a week as his guest to learn more about taking the Duffy Books in Homes program nationwide. Quest even had an opportunity to meet briefly with the prime minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, and Duff.

“It was exciting to be able to talk to [Clark] about education,” said Quest.

At the end of the week, Quest was promised the capital to officially start the program in the U.S. A board of directors was established, they applied for and were granted 501(c)(3) not-for-profit status, and a full time employee (regional coordinator) was hired.

During the inaugural year, Duffy Books in Homes USA distributed more than 18,000 books to elementary school children.

Before coming to Keuka, Quest served as associate dean of academic excellence and extension at Corning Community College (CCC), where he was responsible for the concurrent enrollment program comprised of 30 high schools, almost 3,000 students and 200 adjunct faculty. He was also responsible for the honor society, honors program, Career Pathway program, and articulation agreements.

“The Center for Professional Studies is an exciting place to work,” said Quest. “It’s fast-paced—there’s always something happening—and it’s always evolving. It’s innovative, entrepreneurial, and we’re always looking at other opportunities, partnerships and collaborations. Even after just six months, it feels like home.”

Quest has 16 years of experience working in a public school setting. He taught 11th and 12th grade history for 10 years and was both an elementary and high school principal before becoming an assistant superintendent. He also served as a coach (boys’ soccer and track), was a member of the local planning board, and helped found the Candor Historical Society and was the Tioga County Historian for seven years.

“I had worked with preschool through grade 12 and wondered what the other side of education looked like,” said Quest of his transition to higher education after earning his doctorate in educational organization and leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.

And his first impressions of Keuka College came long before he began employment this past July.

“When I was a principal, when I saw that a [prospective teacher] graduated from Keuka College, that person was guaranteed an interview,” said Quest. “We found Keuka teachers to be well-prepared and their dual certification (in special education) was important to us as a small district.”

Quest’s goal for Duffy Books in Homes USA is to make it a nationwide organization.

Monetary donations to cover administrative costs are most needed at this time, according to Quest, and “no donation is too small.”

Quest could also use additional help sorting those 3,500 remaining books in his garage. He expects another shipment of 8,000 books will arrive soon.

More information is available on the organization’s Web site at www.bihusa.org or by contacting Quest at richard@duffybooksinhomesusa.org.