In the video above, the director of the Great Falls library responds to recent online criticism of discarded books.
Below is the video transcript provided by McKenna Dickey:
THE GREAT FALLS PUBLIC LIBRARY PLACED ALL BOOKS LEFT OVER FROM THE BOOK SALE INTO THE DUMPSTERS BEHIND THE LIBRARY, AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TOOK TO SOCIAL MEDIA WITH THEIR CONFUSION AND FRUSTRATIONS.
THE GREAT FALLS PUBLIC LIBRARY RECEIVES DONATIONS OF HUNDREDS OF BOOKS FROM A VARIETY OF ORGANIZATIONS AND PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
DUE TO LIMITED SPACE, THEY HOST TWO ANNUAL BOOK SALES, AS WELL AS HALF-PRICED DAYS, 50 CENT BOOKS, AND MORE TO TRY TO FIND HOMES FOR ALL THE EXTRA BOOKS.
BY THE END OF THE YEAR, THERE SOMETIMES ARE STILL QUITE A FEW BOOKS LEFTOVER THAT THEY SIMPLY COULDN’T FIND HOMES FOR.
LIBRARY DIRECTOR SUSIE MCINTYRE: "WE ASK LOCAL NONPROFITS TO COME IN. THE JAIL CAME IN, QUALITY LIFE CONCEPTS CAME IN, THE RESCUE MISSION CAME IN AND TOOK ALL THE ITEMS THAT THEY WANTED, AND AT THE END, THERE ARE SOME LEFT OVER, YOU KNOW. THE OLDER JAMES PATTERSON'S THRILLERS THAT EVERYBODY HAS ALREADY READ, THAT EVERYBODY MENOPAUSE BOOK FROM 20 YEARS AGO. WE JUST CAN'T FIND HOMES FOR ALL OF THE ITEMS AS MUCH AS WE TRY, AND SO, BECAUSE WE HAVE LIMITED SPACE, WE HAVE TO GET READY FOR THE NEXT SALE. WE NEED TO GET RID OF THEM IN THE MOST ECONOMICAL WAY POSSIBLE, AND THAT IS WHY THEY ENDED UP IN THE DUMPSTERS."
THE NEXT BOOK SALE WILL BE IN OCTOBER FOR THE COMMUNITY TO ATTEND AND PICK UP AS MANY BOOKS AS THEY WOULD LIKE TO AVOID HAVING TO THROW MORE AWAY.
