Dumping books to make room, library says

The sight of Dumpsters filled with books in the parking lot of Dundee Township Public Library outraged some patrons, but library officials say the binning of books in recent days was long overdue and a last resort as the library makes room for a $1.85 million renovation.

"This is a weeding that has been put off because nobody wants to get rid of books," interim library director Phyllis O'Neill said. "We are renovating and it is a good time for us to reassess all of the books in the stacks."

On Friday, after receiving complaints, the library set up tables of books free to the public.

Still, some say the library should have found another means of disposing of the books.

Barb Grows, of Sleepy Hollow, said she asked to browse through a cartload of the books before they were hauled into the Dumpster.

"There must be a better way to get rid of the books," said Grows, who suggested recycling or donating the books to a prison. "My kids were laughing at me because I was trying to explain why they should respect their books. Then they see a guy loading books into a Dumpster by the arm load. It was an odd thing to see."

O'Neill defended the library's actions. She said many of the books were out-of-date reference guides, books that had not been checked out in three years, duplicates, or books that were due for replacement.

The books also had ample opportunities to find a new home. O'Neill said many were donated to the Friends of the Library to sell at one of its book sales, or given to other organizations that were invited to peruse the collection.

"We can put books in storage, but being in storage, they're not serving a purpose either, they're not circulating," O'Neill said. "We tried to find a solution to find the books a good home."