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DUMPSTER PATROL--On April 30, 2005, an anonymous tipster emailed me with information about piles of library books being disposed of in the dumpster of Northeast Community Library, a branch of the Minneapolis Public Library system. The next day, I checked it out and found this information to be correct. There were at least 100-200 or more paperback children's books with library stamping in the dumpster. The books were 5-10 years old, but almost all of them were in good condition. Apparently, the Minneapolis Public Library, despite their claims about being financially troubled, have plenty of cash to simply toss books in the dumpster--which admittedly was a recycling dumpster, but still...this is crazy.

Excess Library Books Are Nothing New, But They Used to Be Resold and Reused

It's fairly well known among librarians and frequent library patrons that public libraries do not keep most of their books for very many years. In general, library systems will purchase several copies of paperbacks and popular fiction and nonfiction, and then, after 2-6 years, when demand for those titles decreases, they "weed out" most copies of the books, leaving one or two copies of the volume at their larger locations--in Minneapolis, that would generally be downtown's Central Library or North Regional Library. The weeded out books are then sold as used books in book sales or at the two Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library Bookshops (located at 250 Marquette Ave. and 5244 Lyndale Avenue South). In recent years, the library has tried to be a bit more fiscally responsible by purchasing fewer copies of the same book--although there are library patrons that dislike this policy because it forces people who want to read a popular title to place a hold on the book they want and then wait as long as six months, sometimes longer. In any event, the proceeds from selling used library books go back to the library to pay for new books or special programs. The proceeds admittedly don't amount to all that much--books cost anywhere from 25¢ to $10 or so, but at least the library recoups a little of it's investment--and it allows people who otherwise may not be able to afford to buy books to provide books at home for themselves and their children.

The New Paradigm

Now, the Minneapolis Library apparently thinks it's appropriate to bypass the Friend's Bookshop and just toss the books in the dumpster. (It really is easier. This saves them the difficult task of loading a few extra boxes onto their delivery truck!) I don't see how this practice can be defended. Even if they don't think these books would sell fast at their used book store, I bet it wouldn't take much work at all to find schools that could use more books for their libraries, teachers who could use more books for their classrooms or parents who could use more books for their children. And since the library claims that they are "developing partnerships with other bodies"¹, such as the Minneapolis Public Schools, this shouldn't be too hard. And if they feel that even that small task is "too much work," they could simply stick a shelf in the entryway offering patrons free books. In any case, it's simply indefensible to just throw out all these children's books, and I think most people would agree (if you disagree, please email me through the form in the right margin of this page).

Make Your Voice Heard!

I know many of you are a bit irate now, so in conclusion, I want to let you know some things you can do about this. For one, I think this is a topic worth discussing, so I'd like to invite you to discuss this in our FREE SPEECH message board. Additionally, you might like to send your thoughts on this topic to the Minneapolis Public Library directly--their email address is askus@mplib.org. Finally, go into a local library and let the staff know what you think--maybe they'll put their used books to good use next time.--Dr. Vinny, SouthHighSucks.com Founder and Publisher

Source Notes

¹Leaflet titled "Understanding the Minneapolis Public Library Budget A Reference for Concerned Citizens," prepared by The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library, January 2005, page 2.

Pictures of Northeast Library Dumpster

Taken Sunday May 1, 2005

Front of Northeast Community Library, 2200 Central Ave NE

Behind Northeast library, the parking lot and dumpster

Piles of Books in the Northeast Library Dumpster

Closeup of the Library stamps on some of the books

Dumpster and Northeast Library Loading Area

Full View of the Dumpster Full of Library Books

Front of the Book-Filled Library Dumpster

Another View of the Northeast Library Dumpster

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