Throw-It Thursday - Where Do the Books Go?

Image by GraphicMama-team
 from Pixabay

Ashley Borman, Technical Services Librarian at the Clintonville (WI) Public Library, is back with another weeding tips column. 

Some people wonder why libraries discard books. Why we can’t just keep everything we buy. Why we need to buy new things all the time. They also want to know what we do with books that we remove from the library. This wonderful post from everylibrary.org was forwarded to me by a friend. It puts into words (better than I could do) the reasons why we discard books and why not everything gets redistributed: “Where do the Books Go After the Library?”

Another great post I found on Medium.com goes into a bit more detail: “What Happens to Old Library Books?” . This article tells a bit more about how circulation can affect the library life of a book. He also talks a bit about how extreme weeding can sometimes cause unwanted media attention. Some good food for thought can be found in this article as well.

If you work in a library and have ever struggled to put into words how we discard items to a non-library person, these articles have some great points to help you out. If you are just a library or book lover and were curious about what we do with the books when they leave our shelves, now you know.