Shannon Jacobs wrote:

> I am quite offended by your discarding of a book I
> donated several weeks ago, "Against All Enemies".

Shannon seems not to be without a fair share of attitude himself! I haven't
delved into the archives, but evidently there's a lot of baggage hanging
around from previous encounters.

Setting all that aside, though, I sympathise over the fate of the book. The
question of how libraries handle donations and bequests is a frequent topic
for discussion among bibliophiles, and individuals worldwide are apt to have
their noses put out of joint by institutions they thought would value
something that in fact they merely chucked out.

However, venting one's spleen at public servants - while understandable -
isn't necessarily the best way round the problem. It's probably a good idea
to put a message inside any book you donate with your phone number and
address and asking the library to contact you if it turns out they can't use
the book. There's no point getting upset about how important useful an
addition to their library you feel the book to be. Just have them phone you,
pick it up and give it to someone else.

Secondhand bookshops are often a good bet - at least the book has a chance
of finding a good home. Even then, though, you have to find a bookshop that
handles that kind of stuff. I remember taking a whole load of books (mostly
paperbacks in English) to a bookshop near me shortly after I first came to
Japan and they didn't even want them free! In the end I left them out with
the rubbish and nearly all of them had gone by the time the dustmen came the
following day.

--
John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com