March 25, 2009 - A Lending Library at the Office

I really enjoy reading.  I have a home library where I keep the books I read often, and all my technical, reference, and QA books.  But some books I read once and I'm not terribly interested in reading them again.  So after doing some spring cleaning, I found I had a stack of books that I needed to clear out.

I hate to throw away useful items.  I'd much rather find a good home for a book than have it end up in a landfill somewhere.  So I decided to try something I had enjoyed at other companies - I decided to start an office "Lending Library".

I brought the books in, placed them on a central bookshelf and told the company.  Here are the "rules":

• If you want to permanently donate a book, just place it on the shelf
• If you want to lend a book and get it back, first write your name on the inside cover
• If you want to keep a donated book, just take it
• If you want to borrow a lent book, just return it to the shelf when done

So far, the reaction has been very good.

Pretty much everyone thought it was a good idea.  Some people quickly found books that they wanted to read, and a few that they wanted to keep.  And some additional books have begun to appear on the shelf.

I'll be doing a bit more spring cleaning, and expect to bring in another batch of books soon.