http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018780817Oh my.
hedgehog (35,082 posts) Tue Jul 14, 2015, 02:50 PM
What to do with an inherited library?
My Dad is downsizing and I have his very extensive library - we're talking 200-300 books, easily. Now some of these are out-of-date, but the bulk are solid history, philosophy and classics. We had a cousin interested in Civil War history, so he got that part of the collection. But how do I get the rest into good hands? I'm willing to give them away, but I doubt our local library would take them.
Question.
Since when are 200-300 books an "extensive library"?
Geezuz gawd, franksolich has more than 200-300 books, all of them hardcover, no cheap paperbacks, against only one single wall of the living room--not to mention many more scattered throughout the house.
I'd hesitate to call what I have a "library," much less an "extensive" one.
I dunno how many books my father managed to acquire in his lifetime; I've written about it before, but it's too damned hot and humid to write about it again. At the time of his death, they were approaching 4,000--all hardcover, about two-thirds of them slipcased--but being pretty young and shallow at the time, I didn't pay attention.
<<<grew up in two houses (although not at the same time), where even the hallways had floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves.
That, I'd call a "library," but not necessarily an "extensive" one.
There's a lot of primitive comments at this thread, but this lie in particular stands out:
csziggy (18,422 posts) Tue Jul 14, 2015, 11:45 PM
20. That's the rub - my sister volunteers at her library
With their "Friends of the Library" - most of the donated books never get close to the shelves. They try to sell the ones the library doesn't keep but these days they make more money with the ones they throw away since my sister hooked them up with a recycling company that pays for paper by the ton.
A lot of what is donated are romance novels and they go straight into the dumpster along with right wing political stuff. She's found some thing that should be of interest to local historical groups - such as a history of the Bronx zoo from years ago - but she hasn't found where to place those even when the relevant organizations don't already have copies.
She pulls out and pays for books she thinks friends and family might want. I get science fiction anthologies and needlework books with a few mysteries thrown in. Mom gets Florida history and books about the Great Depression, and so on.
I like the suggestion of an online used book place. You're more likely to get the books to someone who can appreciate them than giving them to a local library.
I've named a book executor for my specialized collection. As long as she's living in the area I know she will make sure my books go to people who can make use of them. I she moves (since she's thinking of retiring) or passes away before I do, I will have to change that provision in my will.
Good luck!
I refer readers, including lurking primitives, to this:
"observation upon attending a library book sale" [franksolich, February 12, 2011]
http://conservativecave.com/index.php?topic=55337.0Now, nobody's going to deny that libraries throw out "right-wing political stuff;" libraries throw out a lot of things, including left-wing political stuff.
The public apparently doesn't want left-wing political junk either.
As late as 2004, twenty years after the presidential election of 1984, in used book stores and thrift stores all over Nebraska, one could
still see
piles, stacks, of Genevieve Ferrari's book about running for vice president that year. Still in their original plastic shrink-wrap, never opened. And usually in the "6 books for 25 cents" bin.
The csziggy primitive's got to be careful about making gratuitously sloppy statements, lest she end up in the running for the Top DUmmies of 2015.
