help: Take My Library, Please

[jesse_the_k]

I’ve got around 400 books I no longer want to dust. (I'm saving my vision for new graphic novels.)

• 100+ science fiction or fantasy, dating back to Again Dangerous Visions from the Science Fiction Book Club
• 100 fiction, non-fiction, poetry standards found on the bookshelf of every 65-year-old feminist
• 40+ art topics including architecture, type, books, Celtic patterns, beadwork, songbooks
• 160+ disability related: theory, history, memoir — in print or graphic novel formats

I’m not interested in making money, and shipping them out would cost a lot as well. Almost all these titles are already available in my municipal and UW-Madison libraries, so donation seems unlikely.

MyGuy has volunteered to scan the titles into a database. That gives me a list, but what do I do next?

Comments

[ironymaiden]

Are Little Free Libraries a thing around you? Might be fun to drive around and stock them. The other place I would suggest donating are correctional facilities.

[jesse_the_k]

Thanks for these ideas.

[conuly]

Do you have a books for prisoners group where you are? Or a domestic violence shelter, or even a little free library?

Otherwise, I'd put them out on the curb with a sign saying "free" and wash my hands of the whole thing.

[jesse_the_k]

Thanks for this wide range of approaches.

[sovay]

Take My Library, Please

Damn, I wish you lived closer.

[minoanmiss]

Word.

[jesse_the_k]

I've DMed you about Commonwealth possibilities.

[ride_4ever]

I wish I were as strong and brave as you about reducing the size of the home library. I have hundreds of books in all those topics except Celtic patterns and disability-related. Exacerbating the situation is that I actually AM a librarian at a public library...and every time we have deleted books free to staff I take home a pile of books.

You're not weeding, you're transplanting!

[jesse_the_k]

I'm very lucky to live a ten-minute walk from a great branch in Madison's awesome library system, and that helps with letting go.

But it's still taken decades. For around five years, the only physical books I've purchased have been graphic novels.

[sasha_feather]

I can certainly help out with distribution if needed!

[sasha_feather]

My ideas are: Freecycle, Agrace thrift stores, drive around and stock LFLs. We have a lot of books right now at B2P because we haven't been sending as you know, but we do tend to go through science fiction and fantasy very quickly, so we could take a few of those.

[bibliofile]

Sadly, the SFBC editions tend to be hardcover, so maybe only queer-related books?

[sasha_feather]

We can send hard covers sometimes. It just depends on the restrictions of each individual prison; some do accept HCs. :)

[jesse_the_k]

The SF/F is all WisCon adjacent, but I'd be thrilled to send them into the universe.

[jesse_the_k]

Only a few of those left, thank heavens.

[sonia]

Powells Books will pay the freight for you to ship them, if they like the ISBNs. They don't take book club editions, though.
https://www.powells.com/sell-books
https://www.powells.com/sellbooks/conditionstandards

[lightgetsin]

Was coming here to say this. You do have to type the isbn, or scan it. We give a lot of books away but generally do this first as an initial cut since they give you a shipping label and make it all quite easy.

[moem]

It's probably worth getting a barcode scanner for this.

[jesse_the_k]

Happily, there are several ISBN scanners for my iPhone -- LibraryThing's is even free. I'm planning on building my inventory there.

[moem]

Ah, of course! Yes, that should save you a lot of typing.

[jesse_the_k]

WOW! That's an amazing thing to know, thanks so much.

[seascribble]

I wish you lived near MacKay's, the huge used book warehouse near my parents.

Having a list might help people who wanted them from you and could pay the shipping, or charities for religious groups, children, prisoners, or shelters?

[jesse_the_k]

Good ideas, thanks!

[lilysea]

Buy Nothing. You join your local Buy Nothing group, post photos of them, and tell people when to come get them off your porch/carport with no face to face contact.

https://buynothingproject.org/find-a-group/#USA

THANK YOU

[jesse_the_k]

for letting me know about this group. What a most excellent design, keeping things very local.

[lilysea]

^_^

I forgot to say, you don't have to take a photo separately for each book

you can put eg 10 books in each photo, as long as people can see the covers

[bibliofile]

For the disability books, maybe check with the folks at Disability Pride? See if they know of a community resource that could use them.

(Does Outreach still have a library???)

For the other books, ask the area high school libraries. Maybe especially at La Follette and not just the school nearest you?

[bibliofile]

Also, some library branches are accepting donations now. I've heard of a big sale to take place at the beginning of August. Or the Sequoya folks have their storefront.)

Hmm, any Tiptree in the SFBC editions? I'd happily take those off your hands.

[jesse_the_k]

Oooh! Great Ideas! Thanks.

I'd be delighted if you wanted to browse the shelves before we start The Scan.

[jesse_the_k]

Disability Pride Madison!!!! I knew there was something I was forgetting.

[yourlibrarian]

I'm afraid I have had little luck giving away books -- I've listed them on Freecycle, on Craigslist, on Ebay, gone to used bookstores etc. You've reminded me that I wanted to make a post offering some specific fandom books as well (which I'll still do). I wish I had advice to offer (other than, if you do mail books, send them Media Mail).

[jesse_the_k]

Thanks for sharing your experience -- negative results are also useful, no matter what peer-reviewed journals may publish.

[duskpeterson]

A lot of good ideas above. I will just add that Little Free Libraries are an ideal way to get rid of books a little bit at a time, gradually, so that you don't end up having a whole bunch of books that you need to find a home for. Back before the Little Free Libraries came along, I had to have a troop of Boy Scouts tote hundreds of my books to a library booksale; the poor boys were exhausted by the end. But these days, when I go out, I take a book or two with me to drop off at a Little Free Library. And the books always end up disappearing from the Little Free Library box, so I know that somebody appreciated my donations.

[jesse_the_k]

thanks for the LFL endorsement.

(I have kinky images of Boy Scout crocodiles lugging book crates down the street, which is slightly on-brand.)

[tarasacon]

*snort*
:)