Is it ever okay to throw away books?

All Books Aloud

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What do you do with books that you're finished with? Books you've read or don't want anymore or spilled coffee on? In this episode we discuss what makes a book valuable - to individuals and to society - and why this can sometimes result in anxiety about how books are disposed of.
We dig into the work libraries do to preserve books and the “weeding” they have to do to stay functional for the communities they serve. Elizabeth goes on a teeny-tiny rant about the controversy this weeding can sometimes cause, but why it should be embraced rather than resisted or feared. We also talk about various options for how and where to unload books you don't want anymore, and ideas for reading more sustainably. Don't miss it!
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Books we're reading in this episode:
The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
The Gentleman's Gambit (A League of Extraordinary Women series book #4) by Evie Dunmore
My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme
House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City #3) by Sarah J. Maas
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Sources:

• Haider, Salman. 2022. “Five Laws of Library Science.” Librarianship Studies & Information Technology (blog). September 11, 2022. https://www.librarianshipstudies.com/2017/09/five-laws-of-library-science.html
• Piepenburg, Scott. 2019. “The Five Laws of Library Science.” Librarian to Librarian. October 17, 2019. https://librariantolibrarian.wordpress.com/2019/10/18/the-five-laws-of-library-science/
• Better World Books: https://www.betterworldbooks.com/
• Ben Krumholz, FOX 11 News. 2024. “Residents Outraged Over Dumpster Filled With Library Books at Marinette’s UWGB Campus.” WLUK. January 11, 2024. https://fox11online.com/news/local/northwoods/residents-outraged-over-dumpster-filled-with-library-books-at-marinettes-uwgb-campus
• https://twitter.com/elizabethbrookb/status/1131392411563728896
• ———. 2024. “Books Published per Country per Year.” Wikipedia. February 25, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_published_per_country_per_year
• Talbot, Dean. 2023. “Number of Books Published per Year.” February 21, 2023. https://wordsrated.com/number-of-books-published-per-year-2021/
• https://twitter.com/womensart1

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Intro and outro music: "The Chase," by Aves.
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