Here at the library we have a new addition and you can see it anytime you like. Just drive down Church Street and pull into the alleyway just after Orrington. On your left, on the East side of the library, you’ll see a big green bin. It kind of looks like a drop box for library books and you’d be forgiven for mistaking it as such, were it not for the large sign plastered at the top that reads, “STOP – NO LIBRARY RETURNS”.
No library returns? Outside of a library? Yet down below it clearly says “drop books here”. What kind of bin is this anyway?
Introducing the Better World Books bin for book donations. As some of you may have noticed, the library is no longer accepting donations these days. We have no annual book sale any longer, but that doesn’t mean folks in town don’t want to give us their books. After all, they could be worth something. The Better World Books bin alleviates this problem. You see, when we accepted physical donations the people of Evanston were generous. VERY generous. TOO generous. It took constant work by library volunteers and staff to perform the sorting work needed (someone recently called it “triage” and I don’t think the term is out of place). The Better World Books bin does the sorting for us. And part of every sale of the books donated goes to our library.
So the next time you wonder what to do with that book that’s been gathering dust on your shelf for too long, stop on by the library and look for the big green bin. Just don’t drop in your library books!