I love the downtown library’s used book sales. I rarely buy new books, but used books always seem like such a good deal to me. There is a large table full of cookbooks, my particular weakness, and I’m always able to find one to add to my collection. The library’s auditorium is filled with loads of novels, plus non-fiction books on all kinds of topics, and the stage is lined with children’s books. Most hardbacks are $2, and paperbacks are 50 cents each. The sale runs through Oct. 22 during regular branch hours. Tomorrow is half price day, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, they have box day, where you can cart off boxloads of books for a few dollars. It’s getting to be curl-up-with-a-good-book weather, so run down and grab a bunch.
Here are a few I came home with today:
3 comments:
I've seen so many books for sale at the libraries... many now offered for free....
My question is this:
What should happen to the books that the libraries cannot sell or give away?
and a related question - is it a good thing in the first place to have so many books that end up not being wanted except by the original purchaser?
The person I spoke to at the library desk today told me that almost all of the books are sold by the end of the second box day, and the rest are saved till the next book sale...although I can't imagine that they really have that much storage for books no one wants. As for there being so many unwanted books in the first place, that's why I rarely buy books other than the occasional reference book (cookbooks, how-to books, etc), and instead just check them out of the library. Even a great book, after a few readings, is just a dust collector unless you circulate it around. I suppose I'd feel differently if I were an author.
I just got some additional information from the library about what happens to the unsold used books. They are given to the Rotary Club, which has a program which takes used books for shipment to needy schools and libraries internationally. So all the donated books ultimately go to a good cause.
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