SMALL STEPS . . .

To show them that not all Americans are bad, bullying, imperialistic, or war-mongering ...

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- Biology professor Safaa Al-Hamdani wasn't expecting an avalanche of books when he asked colleagues at Jacksonville State University to help his alma mater in Baghdad restock its libraries.

But donations have been pouring in from around the country.

"I never thought it would get this big," Al-Hamandi said Friday.

It all began when JSU professors Bill Hug, Kelly Gregg and others joined the effort, collecting spare books off professors' shelves to ship to Baghdad University, which has been drained by decades of brutal dictatorship, war, and international sanctions.

A story about the book drive last month in The Anniston Star was picked up by other media outlets, and books started arriving from universities all over the country.

Two chemistry professors from the University of Alabama drove from Tuscaloosa, their cars loaded with 1,000 back issues -- or 40 years' worth -- of the Journal of the American Chemistry Society.

"Rather than just sit here and collect dust, somebody can make good use out of what we've got," said one of the professors, John Vincent.

Al-Hamdani said he has received e-mails from professors as far away as Texas and California pledging support for the project. He's expecting deliveries from professors at Auburn and UCLA.

There are so many volumes now, they no longer fit under a table in Al-Hamdani's laboratory at JSU. Instead, they've taken over a storage room in the same building.

Anton Flores, a professor in the human services department at Georgia's LaGrange College said he e-mailed faculty who are away for the summer and expects to collect plenty of books to deliver to Jacksonville when they return this fall.

The drive has provided a rallying point for faculty and students who debated the need to invade Iraq, Flores said.

"It seemed to kind of defuse the hostility and the debate of whether military intervention was right," Flores said. "It gave both sides the opportunity to gather around a common issue."

The Jacksonville group now is seeking contributions to cover the estimated $3,000 cost of shipping the books to Iraq. They've raised $250 so far.

Al-Hamandi said he's been floored by the support from around the country and from his colleagues at JSU.

"I don't know these people," he said. "I never met them and I probably never will. It just makes you feel you're in a civilized place and there are a lot of good people."