While out bookhunting yesterday, Mom and I stopped by one of our favorite semi-local book haunts, only to find out they’re closing in the next month or two, like too many others. Unfortunately, their rent has been raised and sales haven’t been enough to justify keeping it open. (Not to mention that during the horrific flooding a couple years back, they lost a lot of inventory to water damage and haven’t ever really recovered…) They’re an older couple, and they’ve decided it’s time to close.
So imagine our surprise when they said that they were going to have a big sale over the next month and then take all the unsold books to the dump, however many that may be…! AAAAAAAACCCCCKKK! Both mom and I leaped to the books’ defense. We begged the owners to reconsider. We had just been to a library book sale in their area, one where they were giving out leaflets asking for more donations. Seems the bookstore owners hadn’t heard that local libraries have book sales to help fill in budget gaps, especially important now that cities and counties are cutting back, with libraries taking some of the largest cuts. (We get a newsletter from our own library asking for books all the time now!)
The bookstore people weren’t aware that donations to library Friends’ organizations are charitable write-offs if the Friends have registered with the IRS. Why pay the dump to take the books (especially based on weight!) when you can take money off your taxes instead and give the books a 2nd life in a new home? The bookstore had taken a few to Goodwill in the meantime, but while I appreciate the efforts Goodwill puts into communities, they’ve been upping their prices locally and acting more like upscale boutiques than thrift stores, especially in their book depts. (Some of the local Goodwills are now selling the used books for as much as $8-10 or more – hard for people to fit into their already tight budgets these days.) The local libraries, on the other hand, still sell the donated books for a more reasonable $1-3 each or so, win-win for them and people who need to read and save.
So, if you hear of a book store going out of business in your area, please make sure they know they have other options than throwing out undamaged books, making landfills fuller than they already are. Libraries, thrift stores, literacy programs and even schools would be grateful to get the remaining unsold inventory. Please, don’t let good books go bad… =)
