I'm posting this here as it needs more space than I think is good for a posting on the Maine Library Listserv.
I have a couple young women who help out on Saturdays. They are intelligent and eager to learn new stuff. Jordan says she might like to become a librarian herself and we have some interesting discussions about librarianship and what part customer service plays in it. She and Maria are working on a project that will help accomplish several things when completed. Since we recently migrated to Evergreen ILS, there are books that fell through the cracks during the changeover. I have my Saturday volunteers scanning all the juvenile Easy (picture) books. In addition to catching any we didn't pull into the new system, They are setting aside any that haven't circulated since 2007. When you're squeezed for space, you tend to have more stringent weeding parameters. Once they've triaged a batch, I go through the ones set aside. Some, particularly those in pristine condition and/or with intangible qualities I think qualify them to remain in the collection, go back on the shelf. The rest are deleted from our system and from SOLAR.
I take the process a step further immediately after deleting them; running them through three websites. I start with Amazon.com to see if they have any value. Yesterday, I found one that is now listed at $6.50. Next, I run them through Paperbackswap.com. I've found that there are a lot of teachers, homeschoolers and parents out there who are looking for slightly older kids' books and have no problem with ex-library copies. In fact Paperbackswap allows members to set conditions for all books they want, including specifying that they do not want ex-library copies. The main reason I offer these weeds on this site is that, in most cases, I can send out a book for less than $3.00. I get a credit in return once the book is received. I can use them to request books from other members. I concentrate on recent juvenile and YA books as well as unabridged audio books (these cost two credits, but are generally more expensive to buy even used). Compare this cost (under $3.00) with the penny books on Amazon or eBay. In most instances, you're paying $3.99 shipping, so by doing what I'm doing, I save a buck each time, not to mention making someone else happy by fulfilling a want with the books I list.
My last stop is Betterworldbooks.com. I've been a member for over four years. They are an easy and convenient venue for many books I can't sell for much online or that are so heavy, shipping costs eat my potential profit. They're great to work with. A library signs up, scans books at their website using the EAN/ISBN and gets an immediate send or don't send. BWB supplies shipping boxes and pays the shipping costs. Every time I get six boxes or more packed, my friendly UPS dude takes them away. BWB does the marketing and selling. I get more space as well as 15% of net sales. I also get the satisfaction of keeping a lot of books out of the waste stream and knowing that BWB takes another portion of the revenues and donates them to help fund literacy in other countries. A true win-win in my mind.
The books that are left over go in out free books box where youngsters coming to the library are encouraged to find something to take home.
Here are a few of the items I've received or soon will receive in trade from PBS.
Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin (2008)
Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors (2008)
Deliver Us From Evil - Audio CD - Unabridged Ron McLarty (Narrator), by David Baldacci (2010)
Sovay by Celia Rees (2008)
Book 1 Gamadin Word of Honor by Tom Kirkbride (2008)
Level 26 Dark Origins (unabridged) Author: Anthony E. Zuiker, Duane Swierczynski (2009)
Fact of Life 31 by Denise Vega (2008)
High Dive by Tammar Stein (2008)
Relic - Special Agent Pendergast (unabridged) Author: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child (2011)
Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison (2009)
The Woman in Black A Ghost Story (unabridged) by Susan Hill (2011)
I have a couple young women who help out on Saturdays. They are intelligent and eager to learn new stuff. Jordan says she might like to become a librarian herself and we have some interesting discussions about librarianship and what part customer service plays in it. She and Maria are working on a project that will help accomplish several things when completed. Since we recently migrated to Evergreen ILS, there are books that fell through the cracks during the changeover. I have my Saturday volunteers scanning all the juvenile Easy (picture) books. In addition to catching any we didn't pull into the new system, They are setting aside any that haven't circulated since 2007. When you're squeezed for space, you tend to have more stringent weeding parameters. Once they've triaged a batch, I go through the ones set aside. Some, particularly those in pristine condition and/or with intangible qualities I think qualify them to remain in the collection, go back on the shelf. The rest are deleted from our system and from SOLAR.
I take the process a step further immediately after deleting them; running them through three websites. I start with Amazon.com to see if they have any value. Yesterday, I found one that is now listed at $6.50. Next, I run them through Paperbackswap.com. I've found that there are a lot of teachers, homeschoolers and parents out there who are looking for slightly older kids' books and have no problem with ex-library copies. In fact Paperbackswap allows members to set conditions for all books they want, including specifying that they do not want ex-library copies. The main reason I offer these weeds on this site is that, in most cases, I can send out a book for less than $3.00. I get a credit in return once the book is received. I can use them to request books from other members. I concentrate on recent juvenile and YA books as well as unabridged audio books (these cost two credits, but are generally more expensive to buy even used). Compare this cost (under $3.00) with the penny books on Amazon or eBay. In most instances, you're paying $3.99 shipping, so by doing what I'm doing, I save a buck each time, not to mention making someone else happy by fulfilling a want with the books I list.
My last stop is Betterworldbooks.com. I've been a member for over four years. They are an easy and convenient venue for many books I can't sell for much online or that are so heavy, shipping costs eat my potential profit. They're great to work with. A library signs up, scans books at their website using the EAN/ISBN and gets an immediate send or don't send. BWB supplies shipping boxes and pays the shipping costs. Every time I get six boxes or more packed, my friendly UPS dude takes them away. BWB does the marketing and selling. I get more space as well as 15% of net sales. I also get the satisfaction of keeping a lot of books out of the waste stream and knowing that BWB takes another portion of the revenues and donates them to help fund literacy in other countries. A true win-win in my mind.
The books that are left over go in out free books box where youngsters coming to the library are encouraged to find something to take home.
Here are a few of the items I've received or soon will receive in trade from PBS.
Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin (2008)
Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors (2008)
Deliver Us From Evil - Audio CD - Unabridged Ron McLarty (Narrator), by David Baldacci (2010)
Sovay by Celia Rees (2008)
Book 1 Gamadin Word of Honor by Tom Kirkbride (2008)
Level 26 Dark Origins (unabridged) Author: Anthony E. Zuiker, Duane Swierczynski (2009)
Fact of Life 31 by Denise Vega (2008)
High Dive by Tammar Stein (2008)
Relic - Special Agent Pendergast (unabridged) Author: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child (2011)
Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison (2009)
The Woman in Black A Ghost Story (unabridged) by Susan Hill (2011)
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