[Genealib] How to sell duplicate library books?

[Don Litzer]

Go to www.librarybooksales.org  This website acts as a clearinghouse for
libraries with books they wish to sell.  You can use bookfinder, addall,
etc. to estimate the price that you wish to offer.  When someone wants
one of your books, they contact you.  You don't have to mess around with
hawking your stuff.

Don Litzer
Reference Librarian, Historical Genealogy Department
Allen County Public Library
200 East Berry Street, P.O. Box 2270
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46801-2270
e-mail: dlitzer at acpl.info
phone (reference desk): 260.421.1225

Happiness = Reality - Expectations

>>> bhill at calmail.berkeley.edu 07/05/06 6:06 PM >>>
Dear List,

My genealogical society library is looking for ideas for selling
duplicate 
or de-accessioned library books.  The Library Committee thinks we
should 
give away the low-value or most common books for the cost of postage,
by 
using this list, but what about works we think have some monetary 
value?  We'd really like to get paid for those.  We also sometimes get

donated books we can't use, so it is an ongoing issue.

Here's the thing.  I'm not sure we have anyone on the volunteer staff
who 
is "E-Bay literate," and I'm also not sure that's the right venue for
used 
books anyway.  Our library doesn't get a lot of foot traffic, and most

people who come in don't bother to look at the books for sale. 
Volunteers 
are tired of boxing up the books to take to sell at general membership

meetings.  We also have space limitations, so we can't keep them around

indefinitely.

In the past, we tried an exchange arrangement with another society, but

they unfortunately did not have anything to offer us that we didn't
already 
own.

One suggestion has been to post a list of books for sale on the
website; 
however, more than one volunteer might be needed, one to handle the
sales 
and mailing, another to keep the listings up-to-date.  The Library 
Committee thinks it would be a LOT of work and would be difficult to 
coordinate and keep current.

What other ways can we make our unwanted books available to the right 
market?  Any solutions out there?

Thanks, everyone - this list is the greatest!

Barbara Hill
<bhill at calmail.berkeley.edu>


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