Thank you, everyone who commented on my nervous posts--it truly helped a lot, to get your perspectives (and offers of help)!
Yesterday I did a thing I'm not entirely sure of.
I biked through the rich neighborhood (of mostly beautiful, single-family homes and even mansions) that rings the lake, about 4 miles from my thrift store,
and I stopped at all the many Little Free Library boxes, where people put books out to take.
And at each box, I took one, two, or three books (out of say, 20–30 per box) to donate to the thrift store.
Hm, when I wrote it out that way, I am ethically OK with it.
I just felt funny because the donors' idea is they give the books away free, but the thrift store (me!) will charge money for them--mostly 99 cents.
The donors are not just the people who own the houses where the Little Free Libraries are. They are anyone who drops books off. I believe the boxes serve as recycling conveniences as much as anything---you don't have to drive to a thrift store, for instance. I would be happy if I were a person who hosted or donated to a LFL box if some of the books went to SVDP.
A complimentary idea is that it is good to redistribute the books from a wealthy area where the receivers will mostly be other wealthy people ["wealthy" being a relative term; I mean, here, people who have jobs that pay much more than minimum wage]
to a poor area where people live in the park that's next to the store.
And the money we charge just keeps the place running, so it can continue to provide low-cost good things to people who need them. Or just want them--
rich people shop there too! A couple in the books section the other week told me they'd paid $600 each for tickets to go see Hamilton that night. They bought a 49¢ manga for their grandson.
So, yeah. I believe I am honoring the larger idea of sharing books--like a squirrel shares acorns by moving them around.
I'm going to be OK with it for now--if you have an opinion, I would like to hear it!
These are the seventeen books I took for the store:
Yesterday I did a thing I'm not entirely sure of.
I biked through the rich neighborhood (of mostly beautiful, single-family homes and even mansions) that rings the lake, about 4 miles from my thrift store,
and I stopped at all the many Little Free Library boxes, where people put books out to take.
And at each box, I took one, two, or three books (out of say, 20–30 per box) to donate to the thrift store.
Hm, when I wrote it out that way, I am ethically OK with it.
I just felt funny because the donors' idea is they give the books away free, but the thrift store (me!) will charge money for them--mostly 99 cents.
The donors are not just the people who own the houses where the Little Free Libraries are. They are anyone who drops books off. I believe the boxes serve as recycling conveniences as much as anything---you don't have to drive to a thrift store, for instance. I would be happy if I were a person who hosted or donated to a LFL box if some of the books went to SVDP.
A complimentary idea is that it is good to redistribute the books from a wealthy area where the receivers will mostly be other wealthy people ["wealthy" being a relative term; I mean, here, people who have jobs that pay much more than minimum wage]
to a poor area where people live in the park that's next to the store.
And the money we charge just keeps the place running, so it can continue to provide low-cost good things to people who need them. Or just want them--
rich people shop there too! A couple in the books section the other week told me they'd paid $600 each for tickets to go see Hamilton that night. They bought a 49¢ manga for their grandson.
So, yeah. I believe I am honoring the larger idea of sharing books--like a squirrel shares acorns by moving them around.
I'm going to be OK with it for now--if you have an opinion, I would like to hear it!
These are the seventeen books I took for the store:
I don't see any difference in picking up free-to-you books which will be used in the service of people who probably couldn't afford them otherwise, and what my sister does when she picks up discarded lamps and bits of furniture on weekly trash days that she refurbishes then sells. Most of the profits from those ventures helps pay her bills, but she also donates her refurbs to charities as fundraisers or gives money from the sales to help a local women's shelter.
ReplyDeleteIf she were wealthy, she might just write a check. This way, she stays connected to those with less, in part as a reminder of where we came from.
It's good, Fresca; it's all good. What you both do, you and my sister, serves a greater good. Bless you for that.
If you were a used-book store owner, taking books would be obviously sketchy. Taking them for a thrift store is another matter, I think.
ReplyDeleteI always wince a little when I see books that I’ve donated to a library booksale show up on the shelves of the local used-book store. Then again, the bookstore owner did pay for the books. But I meant for someone to buy the books to read them, not to resell them.
Thank you, Crow and Michael: Your thoughts are helpful. I trust you both to have good moral sense.
ReplyDeleteSpending time fixing up the Y/A novel made me feel better--I hope some teenager will get it, who otherwise would not...
Or who know---lots of school teachers shop in our store for their classrooms too!
P.S. I just posted about the Y/A novel. It had no jacket, so I made it one.
ReplyDeleteHere in Concord, NH the public library has 6 of the LFL boxes. But I also know of 4 others that are hosted by private persons.
ReplyDeleteI figure you are spreading the wealth and knowledge!
Although I could argue that once it's at the curb, it's fair game for anyone whether they take it home to read or re-sell. Personally I would rather someone take it than have to dump in the trash.
I'm with Michael in that I wince when I see books I donated to the library end up in an used bookstore but at least they had to pay for them.
Kirsten
Aren't these supposed to be take one,leave one? I love these street corner libraries
ReplyDeleteKIRSTEN: Yes, like Michael and you, I wince a bit at re-salers: they come through "my" bookstore with their electronic scanners, and buy up a box to sell to Amazon or Thrift Books, the big online sellers that will charge a lot more for these books that
ReplyDeleteI WANT to go to people who maybe can't afford (or don't want to) buy online.
But I have to say, the re-salers have to work hard for their money--they check every single book in the store, which takes them quite a while, and they do of course pay. One guy in particular is very nice--he showed me the box of books he was buying and I was relieved that they weren't particularly interesting---they were the general type.
And they don't even look at books without bar codes, so my Cool Old Books are safe! :)
GZ: Hey! Good point! That (take one/leave one) isn't the way the Little Free Libraries work here in this town,
but I COULD put in some books we don't need in, in exchange.
In fact, we do donate books to other places--most especially to the Women's Prison Book Project, which, just as it sounds, sends books for free to women in prison.
So, what goes around comes around.
As a major Little Free Library user--giver and taker--I endorse taking books for your thrift stores; especially since you are only taking a couple books from each box. First, I approve of your store. Second, I often drop my books in the free library only because it's more convenient than collecting a bunch to donate, but I am happy to have my books go to a good cause--and honestly, your store is a better cause than other people (like me) who walk around wealthier neighborhoods and pick out books.
ReplyDeleteAlso, some Little Free Library boxes are too cluttered, or don't get enough traffic, or just have books that don't tickle anyone's fancy. When that happens the boxes get full and sit stagnant for days or weeks. Movement (taking books) is good for the health and flow of the boxes. The boxes that get the best patronage are never too full or too empty. So please take books from crowded boxes!