Hi,
Thanks to everyone who responded to my request of what to do with old books. I got
responses about everything from art projects to donation ideas. I would especially
like to thank those that suggested I look at school policy. We indeed do have a
policy that I need to follow. Here are the responses for those of you who asked me
to post a hit.
Mary Suplinskas
Media Special Grant High School
Grant, MI
msuplinskas@grantps.net
__________________________________________________________________·
You may want to check your school/district policies before selling any of the
books. Most of the time when I weed, I offer the books to teachers, students,
parents, etc first (unless they are outdated non-fiction) then donate them to the
hospital, retirement homes, etc, or if they are just too bad, throw them out.Rachel
KerrLibrary Media SpecialistNardinAcademy - Elementary DivisionBuffalo, NY14222I
give my usable weeded books to a local charity that sells them on Amazon. If you
look through the used books on Amazon, you'll see that MANY of them are library
discards. I don't sell them myself because of the problem with the appearance that
I would make money from them. They want minimal or no changes made to the original
stamps, cards, etc. Janet SchneiderNorthmor Library/Media SpecialistGalion,
OH · There was a great article on "green weeding" in SLJs
September issue. It mentioned several companies that help libraries get rid of
weededboooks in an ecofriendly manner. They being by putting appropriate items up
for sale, sharing some of the proceeds with the library, and then distribute others
to folks who can use them, or recycling them. One company, B-logistics, is one I
hope to set up an account with. We've been doing a heavy weeding, and I, toom have
a ocuple titles that may be worth something, based on those titles' prices at
Abebooks and alibris.Maureen S. Irwin, Library DirectorRyeCountryDay SchoolRye, New
York10580msirwin@optonline.net · By all means you can have a used
book person look them over or search for titles on Ebay, Amazon, or Alibris to see
if the titles are moving. It takes a rare book to be worth too much with library
markings, but if someone has a special interest in a topic they may pay something
worth your while for the title. Before you throw any away, I'd be glad to post a
list on a living history museum listserv and a one-room school listserv I'm on. I'm
sure at the very least people would be willing to pay postage and make a donation
to your library in exchange for a book from the right time period. I don't
guarantee they'd all find homes, but you could rest assured that you'd done about
everything you could to save them. Sarah S. UthoffReference
LibrarianKirkwoodCommunity CollegeCedar Rapids,
IAsuthoff@mchsi.com · Look up altered books on the web, and then
give the links you find and the books to your art teacher. They can use them for
sculpture class. Great way to get rid of those big clunkers. Pam Landgraf My
district uses Better World Books and it's fantastic. You scan the ISBN into their
system, and if they're accepted they send you boxes, shipping labels, and then pay
you a small amount for your books. www.betterworldbooks.com Katherine
ThurstonSchool Library Media SpecialistEastMiddle School · I'm a
book collector and seller in addition to my duties as the humble high school
librarian. In general, if the books have library tags, stamps, and pockets, they
are worth very little, even if they date back as far as the 1800s. You might be
able to find an individual who would want to take them off your hands, and you
might be able to sell some for a few bucks on Ebay, but that is generally a time-
and effort-consuming process, probably beyond what money you'd make on the books.My
best example of all this: we have some of Prescott's histories of the conquest of
Peru dating to 1864 in our high school library; without library markings, a book
dealer might be able to sell this set for between $75-125, with some effort and
patience; with the stamps, he might be able to sell the set for $10. Might.
There's a significant amount of doubt there.Philip ClarkLibrarianLangley HSMcLean,
VA.703-287-2773Philip.Clark3@fcps.edu We use them with the art classes and have
students read them and create posters and or new covers for the books. Sometimes
you can get history or sociology classes to read the old books and report on the
different view of society --esp such things as racism or sexism--smoking--drunk
driving--alcoholism (Otis on Andy Griffth)--if you do a celebration of a certain
time in history--this would be what they would read. Or you could sell them on
ebay with district permission--I, too, would keep them somehow or another.
Debbie Debra Flinchbaugh, librarianFairfieldAreaSchool District4840 Fairfield
Rd.Fairfield,
PA17320717-642-2012flinchbaughd@fairfield.k12.pa.us · I just had
a book sale with books I had weeded from the collection. I opened it up to the
public as well. I offered everything for a quarter with the option of getting a
"bulk rate" price for those who wanted to make a big haul. The sale didn't
generate a fortune, but I made a little spending money and got some folks into the
library that may not have otherwise come through the doors. Mary BangertLibrary
Media SpecialistClearwaterHigh SchoolRt 4 Box 1004PiedmontMO
63957573-223-2313 · Maybe your local historical society would be
interested in them. Or a university library might accept them as many of them do
serve as archives.Anthony Doyle, Teacher LibrarianLivingstonHigh SchoolLivingston,
CAtdoyle@muhsd.k12.ca.us I put my weeds out on a cart and let students and
teachers take anything that they want. Anything that is left I haul over to the
public library for their used book sale.Amy TheisenLibrary Media SpecialistWest
AllisCentralHigh School8516 West Lincoln Ave.West Allis, WI
53227-2599414-604-3130theisena@wawm.k12.wi.us· Many districts,
including mine, have strict rules about this. We are required to send all our
discards into the district office. There is a local company called Book Bin, that
apparently buys and resells some, and which also ships many to third world
countires. Book Bin is an internation al company, so you should be able to Google
it. Many is the time I have wished I could just sell some of my oldies on ebay or
to Powells,or to Book Bin, but no can do. It's taxpayer money and must be
treated with care. Also, you might consider saving one or two to use as Exhibit A
when explaining why libraries need weeding. At a previous school, I also weeded
many old old books. My favorite was one in the 300's whose thesis was" the end of
civilization as we know it by the millenium - the year 2000". I did not save it,
and have regretted it every since..Linda S. Wilson, Library/TeacherMcKayHigh
School2440 Lancaster Dr. NESalem,
Oregon97305wilson_linda@salkeiz.k12.or.us · I had someone take a
pile and turn them into a lamp by drilling a hole through each on of them and
gluing them all together. It looked really good when it was finished. If you
have enough books, maybe your shop class could turn them into lamps and sell them
as a fundraiser!Valerie BrunnerMt.Zion Jr. High LibraryMt. Zion,
ILbrunnerv@mtzion.k12.il.us· There is always the chance that
another source could use your books. Does your district have an auction? That
is one way to work it. Or have a Friends of the Library sale, with the permission
of your administrative leaders. Ebay is a great idea, but requires time. You
might wish to have a responsible community volunteer help you there. Yes,
people still sell library marked books on the
internet. Diannedsmeyer@academicplanet.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
* LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
* LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
* EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/
* LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
* LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LM_NET
Mailing List Home