How Can I Promote Old Books?

Happy New Year!

If you are like me, you have a number of older books in your library. You probably haven’t read them and don’t know if they are worth keeping or not. I have some ideas for you. Enlist the help of your students. Set up a display on a table or counter or wherever and put up a sign. Some options could be as follows:

Endangered Books!

Lonely Books

Save the Books!

Tell your students that you are considering deleting these books from the library, but you don’t know if the story is good or not. Ask them to read the book or at least a few chapters of the book to determine if it is worthy of staying in the library. When they bring the book back to you, have a little discussion with him and ask about the story. Ask why he liked it or why she didn’t enjoy it. Ask their opinion as to whether the book should stay in the library or if they think it should be discarded.

Some other ideas are to put a post it or note or golden ticket inside a rarely used book and when the student brings the item to you, they get some kind of reward. I wouldn’t announce this, or you will have students mauling through the books to try to find the ticket. I occasionally do this and it is fun to have the student so excited to earn a prize.

Another very simple idea is to put just a few books near the check-out counter with a sign that says, “Check These Out”. You might be surprised to see them actually being checked out.

If students who have read the book really like it, try making a really great book jacket to attract children to read the book. It may be that once one or two have read it, the word will get around.

You could also put a post it with lines just inside the front cover and have students who have read the book write their names. Lots of times just knowing that Bobby read the book and liked it will encourage others to read it, too.

If you decide to discard the book or books from your library, there are some options for you.

1. Go to Amazon.com and see how much people are asking for used copies of your book. You might be surprised to find that you could sell it and make a little money.

2. Take your books to a used book store. They probably won’t give you cash, but you can start a credit with the store. You can find some really interesting books that are much more appropriate for your library and buy them with your credit.

3. Put them on a special shelf and sell them to your kids for a dime or a quarter or whatever really low price you want. Selling thirty old books for fifty cents each will get you just about enough for a brand new book. (You can even GIVE them away at some point if you want.)

4. If all else fails, take them to a dumpster.

Yes, I hear you. You are shocked and just cannot even imagine throwing away books! Don’t worry. Just try it once and you will be able to do it again and again. Remember that this is your last resort. You have already tried to sell the book and found that NO ONE ELSE wants it either! This makes it OK to throw away.

Well, I’m feeling a need to throw away a few books!

Audrey