Northwood News ♦ December 2010

Attention, Avid Readers!  Swap Your Paperbacks

By Laura Hussey

Do you have shelves stuffed with books that you’ve read, but don’t want to keep around?  Or worse, stacks of books piling up because the shelves won’t hold any more?  I make good use of the public library, but I have been convinced for years that the books in our household are multiplying while we are asleep.  At the same time, there are still books I want to read but can’t get from the library for one reason or another.

If this sounds familiar, maybe you will benefit from a web service I learned about a couple of years ago called PaperbackSwap.com, or PBS for short.  When you sign up at PBS, you have an opportunity to post books that you are willing to swap, as well as a wish list for books you would like to receive from other members — all for free.

So how does this work?  Let’s say I have a book I no longer want.  Once I create an account on PBS, I can “post” the book to my bookshelf, or account, using its ISBN number.  Once you have posted ten books, you receive two “credits” to use for requesting books from other members, each good for one book (paperback or hardcover).  Fans of “books on tape” can participate as well; audio books cost two credits each.

Other PBS members can search available books the same ways you search an online card catalog or bookstore — by title, author, subject — and when they find a book they want, they may request it from the PBS member.  That member is notified by email and, if they “accept” the request, they mail the book to the requestor and mark it mailed in their account, all through a very simple process that PBS manages.  You can even buy postage and print a mailing label on it through the PBS website!  A typical book costs between $1 and $3 to mail using media mail rates.

When the book is received, the requestor logs in to his or her PBS account and marks it received, and the sender’s PBS account receives one book credit from the requestor.

PBS has lots of other really convenient features.  For example, a member can create a wish list:  a list of books that he/she would like to request if a member posts them.  Then, when one of your wish list books is posted, PBS generates an email notifying you and giving you 48 hours to request the book.  If you don’t respond, or if you decline the book, PBS will notify the next person in line on the wish list for that book, or put it into the general inventory.  You can even choose to have PBS automatically generate the request for you if one of your wish list books is posted.

PBS is a great green option.  It took me a little while to catch on to the fact that most PBS-ers re-use padded envelopes for mailing PBS books, but now, when I receive a book that I have requested, I carefully open the envelope so that I can reuse it the next time I receive a request.

Happy green reading!   ■