Once read books…and solving a real problem or the next step after Shelfari….

As I have been watching all the things happening on the web, I think about the real problems in my life, and how they might help me solve them.

So first, let me tell you a little story. My sainted mother was a voracious reader. She would have loved the net, would have loved all the writers, the blogs, all the user generated content, but in her life, the net was great books, magazines, newspapers.  These various ways of delivering content may disappear in my lifetime. I hope not.

When she died, my sister and I were left her house, and I think most of the stuff she had ever owned in her lifetime, including all of her books. All of which she had kept. We each took a few, but the rest we gave to the community college in our home town. To my absolute delight, the college created a book plate that said something like… “In loving memory of Lucille Keenan Bruggeman”.  When I was in the library one day, I saw a title that I recognized from her library, opened it, and found the book plate in the book.  I brushed a tear from my eye, and was just flat thrilled.

So, fast forward 20 years.  Routinely over the years I have boxed up books and sent them back to the college. Each time I have gotten a note, thanking me, and telling me that they will add the special book plate, and put the books on the shelves.

I felt great, as if I had done right thing, e.g. reading the books, knowing that Mother would be proud of me, knowing that I had read them, and knowing that the books I had purchased would be read again and again. And I would know there would be a book plate in them, so that whoever opened it, would read her name and wonder who this much loved woman was.

And so here’s the idea.

What if there were a business or a charity, that would  a means by which libraries could in effect subscribe to Shelfari, and when you indicated that you had read a book, that they would match the book you read with a library request somewhere, and would provide you with a mailing envelope and postage so that the book would end up in the hands of someone who needed it.

A friend of mine once told me that having a book shelf full books you had read was like having a six pack of empty wine bottles.

I am sure companies like Amazon would be irked, authors would probably be disappointed, but libraries everywhere would have access to the books they wanted, and the world might be a better place.

Like all my ideas, they make a huge amount of sense to me.

I am not quite sure how to make this work, but I know how valuable books in the right hands would be.

What do you think?

 

Comments

[Whitney]

I think it would end up being a huge program (and probably a pain) to get it started (and the program written), but as a charity type of thing, and for those who don't re-read books (me not being one of them), it would be awesome! Especially when people are looking to do something with books they just don't want/need anymore and don't want to just toss them out.

[Chris S.]

I love the idea, Buzz. Like your mom, I save most of the books I've read, and while I don't quite think of them as empty wine bottles, it makes sense to reuse/recycle books just as I do my empties.

The need-matching programs have already been written (think lala.com), so how hard could it be, really, to make a grass roots movement happen?

[Marc Nijdam]

Paperbackswap.com does something that does the logistics side of this. With some limitations, but it's not that far of the mark.

http://www.paperbackswap.com

[Mark]

Buzz:

What you want, sounds a lot like what we built at swaptree.com.

On Swaptree, users can trade the books, cds, dvds, and video games they are finished with, for the ones they want, with other users for FREE.

Simply list the items that you have to trade and the items that you want and Swaptree’s two and three-way trade algorithms instantly shows you all of the items you can receive in trade. Its pretty cool and kind of amazing.

Swaptree even simplifies the mailing process, by providing you with a perfect postage label that can be printed right from your computer, so you never have to go to the post office. Best of all Swaptree, not only saves you money and allows you to discover new authors and artists, it is also environmentally friendly by reducing consumption and promoting sharing and recycling.

Below is a link to a 2 minute video that shows you what Swaptree is all about.

http://www.swaptree.com/video/demomovie.html

Thanks for the post, and please feel free to get in touch if you have any more questions.

Best
Mark Hexamer
Co-Founder, Swaptree.com

[Martin Tobias]

Buzz, you are talking about recommerce. That is what we are doing at http://kashless.org. We are a generalized platform, not specific to books, but exactly what you are talking about. matching people/organizations who want things with people who have them and don't need/want them anymore. That is recommerce. Keep the stuff moving. Don't buy new if you don't have to.