At this point, you may not have any books for your sale, but before you begin to collect them, you are going to have to have a place to store the books that will be donated. Most times, your library will be only to glad to offer you storage space for a fund raiser that is surely to benefit them. If not, an alternate location will be needed.

Depending on your length of collection time, you have to prepare for the storage of several thousand books. In the process, you will also be pricing, sorting, boxing, and storing these books so the space must be adequate. One possibility might be that books are dropped off at the library and then picked up and transported to a home. This is a cumbersome process and does require a great deal of time and manpower. Therefore, finding a sufficient space at the library is your best alternative.

At the same time you are preparing for book storage, you need to consider book disposal. You will be receiving a great number (sad, but true) of books that are not saleable. As difficult as it will be, you cannot sell every book that is donated to you. Those coming to your sale wish to see and buy books in good condition. A books sale with many moldy, torn, damaged books that customers have to sort through to find a good book will turn people away. Therefore, you will have to have a means of disposal. Large trash barrels within your sorting area will help you with sorting out those books not suitable for the sale.

However, you will need a larger means of disposal. Some libraries have several dumpsters for trash, cardboard, and books. If your library has a large enough dumpster for book disposal, you can speak with the librarian and ask if you may use the dumpster during the course of your sale.

Otherwise there are other means, including such companies as PRO QUO who will provide you with bins for disposal of your books. They will then pick up these bins and actually pay you for the books you are throwing away. It is a small amount of money, but it is a means of disposal if you have no other means. It is important to understand, however, that these bins are large, and pick up is usually only every three to four weeks. So make sure you have adequate space if you undertake this method. This can also be a means of disposing of surplus books after the sale.

Left Over Books: presented by Carl Nawrocki