Got Used Books? Want Used Books?

Do you have piles and piles of books all over the place? Do you have a book habit that is causing your home to turn into a book fort? Is your savings account dwindling due to your incredible need to buy books? Are your loved ones becoming concerned about your need for a book fix?

There may be hope for you.

The site BookMooch is just what you need. It's a "community to exchange used books", for free! All you do is sign up, it's free, and spans worldwide, no domestic restrictions.

You must enter in books you have that you are willing to give away in exchange for what you want. The site is based on a point system. For every two books you receive you must give away one of yours. (There are other values too.) The site is connected to Amazon.com to help you create your inventory (give away) and wish lists. You can create a wishlist, and you can find books you want. You only pay for the shipping of your books to others. The site keeps track of your points and wishlist. You are notified when one of your wishlist books becomes cataloged.

The point of the site is to keep people reading books and make more use of existing books. They work with a few charities where you can donate your earned points. This is such a great idea. I encourage you to give it a try.

Thanks John and Jan Buckman for a great idea!

Happy hunting moochers!

Library One Act

The security desk job is one of my most sought after student positions. Mostly it is seen as an easy job, one you get paid to do homework and hang out, not requiring much effort. That of course is a fable. Everyone wants the job, until they actually work. It is a rather bothersome and tiring job. Trying to stop and card busy students before entering the library is about as fun as getting gum pulled out of your hair. To solve the problem of a boorish training process, a crafty student assistant (English-Lit major) suggested that we try a different approach for training new students for the security desk job.

Here is a little one act we wrote to demonstrate what we expect the student assistants to do at the security desk:

Act One, Scene One: No ID at all

[Curtain opens. "Me" is a student assistant sitting at a small desk by the entrance. "Them" walks through the door and tries to keep going, but is stopped when "Me" speaks.]

Me: Excuse me, can I see your ID?
Them: Huh?
Me: Your University Q ID. You have to have an University Q ID to use the library, otherwise you have to sign in as a visitor.
Them: Oh, well I'm a student.
Me: You still have to have your ID.
Them: But I left it at home!
Me: I'm sorry, but that's our policy.
Them: But I live all the way over on 37th and Maple!
Me: I'm sorry, but our policy is "no ID, no library." Now, if you have your driver's license you can sign in as a visitor and get a visitor badge and we'll hold your license as collateral.
Them: No, I don't even have my wallet with me. I'm a student! Why don't you have, like, a list of who's a student so I don't have to show my ID?
Me: I don't know; maybe you could suggest that. But our current policy is that I cannot let you in with out an University Q ID or a visitor badge.
Them: [Annoyed but sad, looking at feet and shrugging shoulders] Fine... I'll go home and get it... [turns slowly with shoulders slumped and shuffles back out the way they came in].

END SCENE [lights go down]

Act One, Scene Two: Consortium ID

[lights come up; "Me" is seated as before. "Hey you" walks through the door and tries to keep going but is stopped when "Me" says...]

Me: Excuse me, can I see your ID?
Hey you: What? Oh, oh sure. [digs in bag] Here you go... [proffers another University'’s ID].
Me: I'm sorry, but you need to have an University Q ID to use the library after 5.
Hey you: But I'm in the consortium.
Me: I'm sorry, but that's our policy. No visitors after 5.
Hey you: But I'm in the consortium.
Me: I'm sorry, but that's our policy. Our visitor hours are 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
Hey you: But if you're in the consortium, you can use my library any time it's open!
Me: Each library has its own policies, and ours is no visitors after 5, and anyone without an University Q ID is a visitor.
Hey you: [pouts, looks irritated, mutters under breath] Well, that's just stupid...["Hey you" leaves deeply frowning and pouting like a two-year old.]

[Lights go down. Close curtain.]

FIN

Not that I encourage this, well, actually I do. Having something like this is quite fun, and is better than having me blab on and on about the rules and expectations. My student has helped me perfectly capture what happens all the time at the library.