Ad Maas from Leende has found a new home for a large part of his enormous collection of 8,000 books. All thanks to the TV program ‘Even Tot Hier’. “It’s empty and airy, but I’m also relieved,” says Ad.
For 65 years, Ad Maas from Leende collected one book after another, building up a collection that is the envy of any average library. But because Ad is getting older, he appealed through Omroep Brabant, among others, to get rid of his books.
The satirical current affairs program ‘Even Tot Hier’ showed on Saturday evening that the books were removed from his house and taken to a school in Harderwijk. The reason was the news that young people have started reading less and less in recent years and prefer to play games instead.
This was reason enough for presenters Jeroen Woe and Niels van der Laan to organize a game of ‘Comprehending Reader Gaming’ for the students: Ad’s books formed the backdrop for the game in the gymnasium of the Harderwijk school. Anyone hit by a laser had to read a passage from the nearest book. The teacher then came by for an assessment and asked a question. Whoever answered correctly was allowed to continue playing.
Waiting for privacy settings…
The winner of the ‘reader comprehension game’ received, of course, a large stack of books. The rest of Ad’s collection is in the school library, another part goes to De Boekentuin in Alkmaar. This is a foundation that gives second-hand books a new life.
Ad does not want to give away the books in the hallway of the house and another 4,000 books stored in the bedrooms.