Skip to main content

Annotated Bibliography: No more late night dumpster runs – recycle and upcycle unwanted library books

By

Calvert, Philip (2018) No more late night dumpster runs – recycle and upcycle unwanted library books, Public Library Quarterly, 37(2), 222-228. DOI:10.1080/01616846.2018.1465789

Philip Calvert, a recent recipient of a Fellowship from the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA), presents a discussion on what libraries do with unwanted books. He specifies unwanted verses weeded to include unwanted donated material in addition to discarded material. Calvert discusses various libraries and programs that include selling and upcycling books rather than simply throwing out books.

Summary

After deciding what books to remove from circulation librarians then must figure out where to discard those books. Rather than throwing books into a dumpster or recycling bin. A major alternative avenue is to sell books. There are many ways to do this there are companies that will resell books like TradeMe or Better World Books. TradeMe is an online auction site that libraries where libraries can sell their books; while Better World Books is an online reseller who collects and resells discard or donated material. Another way to sell books and earn is to hold book sales. The last method is to upcycle books by using books to create pieces of art like a picture frame.

Calvert presents several ways to reduce the number of books going to a landfill or flat-out recycled with various examples and links to website to find out more. This is a well-informed article that gives several types of reselling books or reusing. An interesting note is the suggestion to hold library programs like a demonstration with a book swap or library program which encourages participants to purchase used books then bring them to an upcycling class. This article provides enough information and ideas for a librarian to use alternative methods to getting rid of old books rather than dumping them in the trash.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Annotated Bibliography- Data Driven Deselection: Using a Decision Support Tool

By
Ehret Snyder, C. (2013, Dec 20). Data-driven deselection: multiple point data using a decision support tool in an academic library. Collection Management, 39 , 11-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2013.866607 Weeding is a time-consuming and sensitive task for librarians. It is necessary to make space for new material, keep information current and updated, and remove items in poor condition. Librarians have to determine what kind of data is necessary to review in order to justify removing an item from the library’s shelves. Tools exist to help librarians gather multiple points of data to make the process more efficient. The librarians at Olin Library, part of Rollins College in Florida, utilized such a tool (Sustainable Collections Services) to help them update their collection and present the findings in this paper. Summary: Librarians are short on time and weeding is one of the most time-consuming tasks they can take on. Criteria is necessary to make...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Weeding Without Worry

By
This website is done by the American Libraries Magazine and talks on the importance of weeding for libraries. It starts by speaking on different "weeding horror stories" of patrons seeing library staff throwing books into a dumpster and being outraged, or rare books being thrown out accidentally. Instances like this can give weeding a bad name, and make it harder for both library staff to weed, and patrons to accept the weeding of materials. The website goes on to explain how to avoid these pitfalls, such as making sure to communicate clearly with library patrons about weeding, and exactly what it is, and why it is needed in libraries, and how it helps the library continue to run well and continue serving the community well. One example they give is from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, where they have a page on their website dedicated to weeding, explaining why it is needed, and encouraging patrons to email or speak to a library staff member in person if they have co...
Post a Comment
Read more

Website Review - Awful Library Books

By
Awful Library Books The first thing that catches my attention when I navigate to Awful Library Books is the wonderfully out of date and kitschy covers. (Fran gets me ) It’s 246 pages (as of October 5th) of proof of why libraries need to weed. Many of the items are outside submissions and the whole project is curated by Michigan public librarians Mary Kelly and Holly Hibner. This site is… so much fun. Again, people from all over the country submit images of their books in need of deselection. Some of the titles, such as a copy of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl will require repurchase at the discretion of the branch, and others, such as Easy DOS It! , a book about the no longer relevant DOS computer system, or a tacky as all get out Burt Reynolds book (likely not how he wants to be remembered, RIP), (This?) (Or THIS?) are best never to be seen again. Awful Library Books pokes fun at the idea that libraries are outdated by displaying the items that we get rid of...
Post a Comment
Read more