Library Lovers discussion

Yesterday I was at our small town library and asked the librarian why the nonfiction section is about half the size it used to be. She said the director has decided They are not keeping any books older than 10 years old. 10 years!. Anything before the year 2000 I would maybe understand but 2007!! To make it worse they have decided the yearly book sale was not worth their time so the books get thrown. Also the new book section is half the size. They are spending more money on books you can download and less money on actual books. This is sad for me because I do download from time to time but much prefer an actual book.

Any thoughts?

Koren wrote: "Yesterday I was at our small town library and asked the librarian why the nonfiction section is about half the size it used to be. She said the director has decided They are not keeping any books o..."

I think that is terrible. Our staff picks the newest books but also buys the classics when they need to be updated due to condition. I think it will be interesting to see how the public responds. I would have a fit. Is your library part of a system where you can borrow from other libraries?

Julie wrote: "Koren wrote: "Yesterday I was at our small town library and asked the librarian why the nonfiction section is about half the size it used to be. She said the director has decided They are not keepi..."

Yes I can order books. Its just sad that the small towns seem to lose so much and now the library seems to be fading away.

Koren wrote: "Yesterday I was at our small town library and asked the librarian why the nonfiction section is about half the size it used to be. She said the director has decided They are not keeping any books o..."

We just went thru our Large Type books and deleted what was not going out (half the non-fiction) but we are having a book sale in September and we will put these in there. We have also taken a lot of our Books on CD out since they also have not gone out in a dogs age, but still have quite a few. And we are looking at our non-fiction and fiction stacks to do the same. Makes more room for the new books coming in. And if we don't have a book we can get it from another library for our patrons. Most people are not interested in downloading a book, even the teenagers. Such a shame that your library is doing this because Libraries are still very valuable resources with all the new technology for those that can't access it at home.

Charlene wrote: "Koren wrote: "Yesterday I was at our small town library and asked the librarian why the nonfiction section is about half the size it used to be. She said the director has decided They are not keepi..."

I understand getting rid of books that no one seems to be interested in. But getting rid of books just because they are older than 10 years is kind of mind boggling. I think they make exceptions for reference books or books that are popular for doing research.

Public libraries are just that ... PUBLIC. Voice your concerns ... write a letter to the editor ... find out who chairs the "friends of the library" group and get them involved ... find out who the members of the library board are and contact them (the director is usually hired by and reports to the board).

Our library is also undergoing a major "weeding" project. Our previous director and head librarian thought that quantity = quality. They were wrong. But at least they are looking at circulation data and relevance (an early edition of Suze Orman's The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom recommended keeping quarters handy for the pay phone!) when making their decisions on what to get rid of. And they ARE putting those books into the friends-of-the-library sale.

Every book I read comes from the library, and I read 180+ books per year. About 95% of them I have to request be transferred from other libraries in our system. With the weeding project about half-way to the goal, there's room on the shelves to get some newer, more popular titles (budget, sadly, is another issue ...)

And speaking of the Friends of the LIbrary and their annual (or bi-annual) sale ... it is a LOT of HARD WORK to run that sale! So if your small town library doesn't have lots of volunteers, I can see why the director is abandoning it.

Book Concierge wrote: "Public libraries are just that ... PUBLIC. Voice your concerns ... write a letter to the editor ... find out who chairs the "friends of the library" group and get them involved ... find out who the..."

We have a very committed Friends of the Library who puts on a couple of book sales a year and then they maintain a couple of book carts year round. One has 50 cent books on them and the other has newer books priced anywhere from $1 to $6. They are constantly emptying the donation box. We also have a free shelf in the basement for items that are unsaleable and old library books and that gets emptied frequently by patrons. We have a company that also picks up books to be recycled or if in good shape donated.

Koren wrote: "Yesterday I was at our small town library and asked the librarian why the nonfiction section is about half the size it used to be. She said the director has decided They are not keeping any books o..."

My thought is you need to start haunting their Dumpster. And maybe go to the local paper and bring attention to this ridiculous policy.