fancyb's Profile

I used to work at the Boston Public Library; patrons could donate books just by dropping them in the drop-slot -- if they didn't have a barcode on them, we knew they were donations and would put them in the queue to get code into the system. This happened pretty regularly with our patrons' spring cleaning, but was also a particularly nice gesture when people who had purchased the latest brand-new bestseller (and didn't mind paying for a hardcover if it meant keeping up with bookclub, etc): when dropped at the library we'd code "hot items" immediately and e-notify the person next in line on the waiting list that their copy was available for pick up.

If spring-cleaning books are ones that even the library can't stock (outdated information, a duplicate we really couldn't use) we'd see if other libraries could use it, or make money off ongoing (discounted) book sales.

I've lent some new-books to friends with the requirement that they pass them on or drop them at the library-- that way they're still off my hands!