JOPLIN, Mo. (KOAM) – A Joplin bookstore is hoping to encourage the next generation of readers by supporting teachers. 

Always Buying Books holds an annual Back to School Sale on three weekends in August, offering a 50% off sale on children and teen books.

This year, the store is holding an Adopt-A-Teacher program with hopes to raise at least $2,000 to help reduce prices even more for teachers.

Joplin bookstore hopes to support teacher's classroom libraries

Joplin bookstore hopes to support teacher’s classroom libraries

Joplin bookstore hopes to support teacher’s classroom libraries

Here’s how the discount would work:

If a teacher chose $100 worth of books, the 50% sale would make it $50. With the Adopt-A-Teacher program they hope to be able to take off another 10%, bringing it down to $40.

The store owner says ever year he sees teachers using their own money to buy classroom books. 

 “Anything in the news or whatever, It’s not good. It’s always the bad teacher gets all the credit, all the print. So, for every bad teacher, my gosh, there’s tens of thousands of great teachers spending their own money buying books for your your kids or your grandkids,” says Bob Wolfe, owner of Always Buying Books.

Wolfe says he wants to help support teacher’s efforts to get books to children.

“If it wasn’t for the Hardy Boy books and the Webb City Public Library, I probably wouldn’t have this bookstore because I fell in love with reading and I’ve never looked back,” says Wolfe. “You get a reader early and, you know, they’re going to be readers for life.”

This isn’t the store’s only effort to help support local schools. Wolfe initiated a campaign aimed at assisting students facing challenges with school lunch debts. 

Donation money is sent to an area school that Wolfe selects at random between the states of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.

If you’re interested in the Adopt-A-Teacher program, donations can be made in store, over the phone or via mail.

To contribute, call 417-781-1720, visit, or mail 5357 N. Main, Joplin, MO 64801. All donations will purchase books for teachers.

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