The longest line

The logistics professionals at Lake Success, New York-based transportation solutions provider Transervice Logistics Inc. are used to solving difficult challenges in areas like dedicated contract carriage, fleet leasing, and contract maintenance.

But they faced a different type of challenge in November, when they teamed up with the nonprofit literacy support group The Book Fairies in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest line of books.

On Nov. 14, Guinness World Record Day, more than 150 volunteers unpacked 500 boxes, counted and measured 31,000 books, and laid them end to end with just an inch overlap at two Wyandanch, New York, elementary schools. A surveyor and independent witnesses were on hand to monitor the event, which was held to raise awareness of the nonprofit’s efforts to fight illiteracy and donate literature to underprivileged communities across Long Island, the New York metro area, and overseas.

In the end, their efforts paid off. The team built a line of books 3.81 miles long, breaking the 2017 record of a 2.6-mile-long line of books set in Illinois.

“We were delighted to sponsor The Book Fairies’ amazing Guinness World Record Day competition and even more excited to be part of the volunteer effort to help the organization achieve this incredible honor that puts the spotlight on their good works,” said Sean Schnipper, Transervice’s marketing and social media manager, in a release.