Lynn and Danville,
Thanks for your contributions on this. I am in full agreement that books which are
too worn or too outdated for your library, or are even just permanent shelfsitters,
are too worn or outdated for other libraries. I am also a South African, and in the
1980s I worked for an organization called READ, which helped to train librarians
and teachers setting up and running libraries in schools. I worked on a project
setting up small box libraries in informal settlements. Many or most of the books
were remainders that had been donated from the US. I remember opening boxes with
what seemed like hundreds of copies of the The Abandonment of the Jews, a 4-500
page work, that was a complete misfit for the people involved in this project.
There are also nonprofits based here who work with organizations in the Third
World. SA Partners (www.sapartners.org) is an example of an interesting
organization working with schools and libraries in South Africa.
Sue Giffard
Ethical Culture School
33 Central Park West
New York, NY 10023
212 712-6292
sgiffard@ecfs.org
-----Original Message-----
From: School Library Media & Network Communications
[mailto:LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU]On Behalf Of Fourie, Danville
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 10:07 AM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: Donating discarded books
Lynn,
Thanks for this thread. As a South African, now a media centre specialist in
Virginia, I can understand this the way you felt when you wanted to help.
I discard books at my library here, and many colleagues and students ask me why i
do not send the books to South Africa for instance. You gave the perfect answer.
The books will either sit in a warehouse because nobody will have funds to pay
customs, or the books will be "discarded" by the recipients.
Librarians and teachers, and the man in the street, in third world countries are
very much on par, and even ahead in what is happening in the rest of the world,
than many first world counter parts. By saying that, we in the third world also do
not want old, tattered and torn and out of date books. We want books for our kids
and students, yes!, but new, gently used (if i can use the terms) books. It should
be books that we (here in the first world) would like to have in our homes and
libraries. A better idea also will be to work with the library association in
that country (LIASA in South Africa), let them choose books at a book store and pay
the bill from here. The books will be read and it will circulate well too.
So, my dear colleagues, do not waste too much energy and money, or feeling guilty
when you weed. Throw that books away!! Do not send it to the third world. I think
we would rather have one good, new (ish) book in a book room/ library/ community
centre than a hundrend shelf sitters from 60's.
Yours,
Danville Fourie
Fredericksburg City Public Schools
________________________________
From: School Library Media & Network Communications on behalf of Mitchell, Lynette
Sent: Thu 1/24/2008 8:55 AM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: Donating discarded books
I did not see the beginning of this thread, so pardon me as I step on my
soap box ...
One summer I volunteered to go to South Africa to go to a village to
start a library and train the villagers to be the librarians. Through a
series of unfortunate events I had to spend my first week there with the
coordinator rather than in my village. The coordinator was to visit
each village (she eventually dropped me off at my village) so I got to
visit other places unlike the other volunteers.
During the other visits we were taken by the local people and the
government people to places to a warehouse to see what had been donated
by good hearted people from America. I personally saw books on "How to
set up traction", "Skiing in the Alps", "Microwave Cooking" (most of the
people had no electricity)! I could go on and on. The pages were worn;
the covers were old and tattered. They told us many boxes of donated
items sit in warehouses on the docks and mold because the villages have
no funds to ship them from the docks inland. Each one of the books in
that warehouse was stamped with DISCARD.
When I got to my village, there were boxes of donated books as well.
When we started going through the boxes I said, "Oh good, I get to teach
you about weeding! Let's look at this book! _East and West Germany_
These countries no longer exist. Do we want it in our library?" "It
is a book!," they said. "But it does not give good information," I
explained. "But it is a book," they said sadly. Yes, they wanted that
book even though it did not give good information, but do WE want to
give THEM BAD INFORMATION? NOT ME!
I know when I first became a media specialist the schools I started at
each had a stamp which said, DISCARD, and one of the first things I do
is throw that stamp away and buy one that says, "REMOVED FROM
COLLECTION". I find that to be a gentle way of saying discarded. That
way if a teacher wants a discarded book for his or her classroom library
the kids won't think of it as trash.
My 2 cents or 25 euros. :-)
lm
Lynette (LYNN) Mitchell
Library Media Specialist
Crystal River High School
1205 NE 8th Ave.
Crystal River, Florida 34428
mitchelll@citrus.k12.fl.us
352-795-4641 ext: 248
352-795-4519 FAX
Currently reading: Stephenie Meyer's books, Twilight, New Moon & Eclipse
(at the request of several of my students)
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-----Original Message-----
From: School Library Media & Network Communications
[mailto:LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Jody Newman
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 6:43 AM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: Donating discarded books
Hi Netters:
This subject grabbed my attention this morning...I haven't seen the
original posting but I thought I'd interject a couple of anecdotes. When
I was in the schools my LMS impressed on me how touchy this subject
always is and that she never dumped books in the school's dumpster but
found ways to donate them or take them home to her personal dumpster
rather than run the risk of having some thrifty townsperson criticize
the schools for wasting taxpayers money!
We also had feelings not unlike what Dennis stated: "Some see the giving
of used books to developing countries as obscene and demeaning."
Yesterday I attended a swearing in ceremony for one of the Lost Boys of
the Sudan who a group of our townsfolk have been helping along. As we
waited in line to register him and have him become a new American
citizen, we asked what he brought with him when he arrived 7 years ago.
He only brought a few items of clothing but he told us that one of his
friends brought along an American Accounting book that had been shipped
to the Sudan. He carried it all that way as he wanted to learn
accounting when he arrived here! It made me think again about this
entire subject matter :-)
Peace......
--
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jody Newman
Library Aide, retired
Stow, MA
newjody@comcast.net
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make
you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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