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

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.