[Libs-Or] just a thought...

[Jackie May]

7/9/12

I, too, have enjoyed this developing conversation. We have been through
this for many years at our library. Madras has a large homeless population,
who do like to read. We have our regulars here who come in every week. What
we have done for years is place a "free" box in the lobby of the library.
Any items that do not sell in our continuous book sale after a period of
time, or are deemed not fit to sell, go into the free box. We fill the box
up as needed and the books disappear quickly. The other need that we fill
is having a large selection and genres of "please return" paperbacks. These
items are stamped, have a spine label for shelving, and a wide strip of
scrap laminate on the spine. That's it. These are mixed in with our regular
paperback shelves and anyone who wishes can come in and borrow the books.
All they have to do is tell us how many they are "borrowing" for our stats.
If the books don't come back, oh well. This has worked fine for us. We keep
a certain amount of gift books just for this purpose. There is minimal
handling, no cataloging, and we have a volunteer who processes the books.
Our magazines, stacks and newspapers are free to peruse in the library, and
folks can still borrow the "please return" items if they so choose.
Something to consider besides worrying about getting cataloged items back.
Our budget is too strapped to not consider the ramifications of even more
cataloged items walking out the door and no way to get them back.

Jackie
-- 
Jackie J. May
Interlibrary Loans
Jefferson County Library District
241 SE 7th Street
Madras, OR 97741
541-475-3351, ext. 307
541-475-7434 (fax)
ORBIS Code #81

"What refuge is there for the victim who is possessed with the feeling that
there are a thousand new books he ought to read, while life is only long
enough for him to read a hundred?"

*Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.*
American Physician, Professor, Lecturer, and Author (1809-1894)
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