Discards & Friends Book Sale Materials Guidelines (Revised 1/2011; 9/2012)

In an effort to handle our discards more efficiently, we have made several revisions to the standard procedures that we have followed in the past.  Please review this document carefully.

All materials withdrawn from HPL collections should be stamped “DISCARD.”

           

·         Uncataloged paperbacks should be stamped on the top edge of the book only.

·         Cataloged books should be stamped in 2 places:  top edge of the book and the back interior label/book pocket.

·         Other items should be stamped where you find an HPL property stamp.

NOTE: Materials withdrawn from the HPL collection are the property of Friends of Houston Public Library; any arrangements for purchasing withdrawn materials must be made with the Friends of Houston Public Library.

Please do not stamp “DISCARD” anywhere else as it detracts from the book’s appearance and is thus much less valuable. 

Donated books that have never been part of the collection should not be stamped at all. 

Always delete items from the III database at your agency. 

Please do not remove pages or barcode (33477, R01) tags from the books.  Materials that go to the Friends should not have any pages, or parts of pages removed, as this devalues the book.   This includes bookplates.  If a book has a bookplate, please put a note on the outside of the book.  The Friends will remove the bookplate to insure minimal damage.

Pack the boxes securely—they should not weigh more than 20 pounds.  Attempt to fill them so that the boxes will not collapse when other boxes are stacked on top. 

Whenever possible, box similar books together and label the boxes with that information.  For instance, if you are weeding a specific area and all of the books are biographies, state that on the label.  It would be particularly helpful if all adult fiction was boxed together and labeled as such to make initial sorting at the Friends easier.  If you cannot be that specific, even a label of adult or juvenile would be helpful.

Any boxes containing items withdrawn from Central Stacks, Clayton, HMRC or Gregory should be clearly labeled with this information.

When sending sets of books such as encyclopedias, please label the boxes “Encyclopedia, box 1 of 2”, “box 2 of 2”, etc.  

All labels are available from the Supply Room.  Discard stamps are available from Collection Dev. 

Boxes labeled DISCARDS should only contain items intended for recycling or trash:

• Items that are severely damaged, mildewed, disfigured, or ripped. 
• Paperbacks with yellow or loose pages
• Tax guides and magazines (Note:  old magazines may also be discarded in the City recycle bins.  Please tear the covers off beforehand.)
• AV that is non-functioning.   

Empty AV cases should simply be thrown in the trash.

If you have any doubt about a particular book, send it to the Friends!