Old encyclopedias

[Goin' Coastal]

Is there any use for an old set of World Book encyclopedias? I am tired of dusting them! My in-laws purchased these in the early sixties and later gave them to us for our kids. At the time they bought them, I am sure it was quite an investment, and probably a financial sacrifice for them. I think their plans would be for us to pass them down to our nephew for their children, whom I am sure don't want them. I hate to just throw them away - it is not only the set of encyclopedias, but also the annual yearbooks to keep them updated. We have the annuals from 1962 through 2000 - a total of 53 books. I am afraid my inlaws would be insulted if I threw them, so I'd love to be able to donate them somewhere. I just can't imagine anyone wanting them - they are such dinosaurs! Any ideas?

[jmarie]

Do you know any under-privileged children who might appreciate them? I had a family who had very little, on my bus route once, and when I asked them if they would like to have my set, they were so excited!

Or perhaps you could ask around in the family. When DD and DS were in high school, they were only allowed to have so many internet sources when writing papers, so this was an additional source for them.

I know that there is someone out there who wants them!
Good luck!
Joyce

[donnamp14]

Maybe you could all the Friends of the Library in your town? What they will probably do is accept them and then try to sell them at a book sale. In all honesty, even with the annual updates, they are hopelessly out of date.

If I can harp on a sore subject here, a teacher putting a limit on internet sources is only trying to make sure the students actually go to the library! Most libraries have their encyclopedias online now and on line access from home, at least in my area, is widely available. It's a new world. (Small comfort to those who spent $$$$$ for those print encyclopedias years ago!)

[Grace]

Maybe a school district that doesn't have a lot of computers might want them. Or a shelter or something like that.

[funniegrrl]

No one is going to want encyclopaedias that old, unless it's for historical purposes. Can you imagine ... information from before the moon landing? Books that don't mention the Vietnam War? Etc.

The yearbooks are a different story, you might find someone who would like to have them. If they are common (World Book, Britannica) any public library who would want such would already have them, I would think. Still, libraries might be a good place to start, if they don't want them they may be able to advise you on who might.

[donnamp14]

It's a nice thought, but no school district wants nor has a need for 40 year old encyclopedias!

In the sprit of egalitarianism, all children (and all adults, for that matter) are entitled to all the current and up to date information available on any given subject. It smacks of elitism to think that poor people can make do with information that those of more means would eschew.

Information really is power.

[tbb113]

I also have a set of 40 year old encycolpedias (without the annuals). Not to belabor the point...certain facts are still facts. My kids have used them to see what a country's flag looks like, facts about already deceased people, things about the industrial revolution, etc. Obviously they can't use them for current or recent events.

[zippy478]

When I was looking for somewhere to donate some old textbooks, I came across a place called Bridge to Asia where you can donate books/texts and things like that but it looks like they don't take any old encyclopedias. Google book donation and maybe something will come up.

But, call your local library and see if they know of anyone with a need.

Another option is a used book store or antique shop - sounds like it may be a collector's item of some sort. Search ebay, too - you may find someone looking for them.

You could always freecycle them, too. Seems like someone somewhere would have a need for them.

Maura

[hlao23]

I'd check with a homeless shelter or even a nursing home that might have a library.

[Grace]

It's a nice thought, but no school district wants nor has a need for 40 year old encyclopedias!

In the sprit of egalitarianism, all children (and all adults, for that matter) are entitled to all the current and up to date information available on any given subject. It smacks of elitism to think that poor people can make do with information that those of more means would eschew.

Information really is power.


I agree with you 100%. My thoughts though are that there are some school districts that don't have computers. They just don't. The most current information (encyclopedia-wise) is found on the internet. I mean, do they even make encyclopedias anymore?

If kids don't have access to the internet, what can they use to get information in the meantime? And while the encylcopedias are surely out of date, not ALL of the information in them is wrong. There has to be plenty of historical (think civil war, revolutionary war, etc.) info in them that could still be usable.

By your thinking, if a school doesn't get everything they're entitled to (and I agree, they should be entitled to the best stuff), they shouldn't use anything at all? That doesn't make sense to me. Just MO.

[krhm]

Maybe you could all the Friends of the Library in your town? What they will probably do is accept them and then try to sell them at a book sale. In all honesty, even with the annual updates, they are hopelessly out of date.

If I can harp on a sore subject here, a teacher putting a limit on internet sources is only trying to make sure the students actually go to the library! Most libraries have their encyclopedias online now and on line access from home, at least in my area, is widely available. It's a new world. (Small comfort to those who spent $$$$$ for those print encyclopedias years ago!)

Not to hijack, but just to clarify...

I am a teacher who limits the use of Internet sources, and I require my students to go to the library for reseach. Yes, the Internet is a great resource, but it isn't comprehensive. There are sources in libraries that simply can't be found online.

For the encyclopedias, I think that they could still have some use, as tbb113 points out, but I also think they would have value as "historical" texts. I'd actually love to sit down and look through them to see what isn't in them as much as what is. For that reason, freecycling them would be the perfect idea; find someone who would consider them valuable, for whatever reason.

[leebee]

I think it's nice to want to pass them on, but have to agree that they are too out of date for school use. To address the issue of under-resourced schools, I can say this: I worked in a library of a school that was grossly under-resourced. It had been closed for 20 years, and reopened with the same books in the library that were boxed up all those years before. I can tell you, I would have rather had near-empty shelves that out-of-date information. We had to cull our collection pretty severely. It wasn't ideal, but it was necessary. Geography changes, names change, regimes change. Yes, some information stands the test of time. But even static things are changed with historic perspective (the moon landing jumps to mind--the way the space program was represented in the mid-70s is very different than today--a lot of those books actually had artist renderings of what our space condos would look like when entire families lived in space!). Even a library like ours had other resources at our disposal. For instance, we could do an inter-library loan for research(which consisted of me taking lists of what the kids needed and finding good matches, then toting them back in a big box). We had no computers, either. So, from my perspective, it isn't better to have something out-of-date than nothing. Of course, I'm sure there are others that have different opinions. But having been there, I thought I'd offer that up. Certainly explore the options, but don't be at all disappointed if that's what you hear.

[lsdesign]

I recently took a set to the dump. As I was putting them into the book swap barn a worker came up and took them from me. Apparently they get so many sets of these each year and no one wants them.

I did have a thought that it might be cool to cut out some of the old photos to keep for collages or some crafty project.

[sparrowgrass]

As a former librarian, who turned down about one offer of old encyclopedias a month, my advice is to throw them away. I know it hurts to throw away books, I know they cost a lot when they were new, but they are just plain junk now, eating up space that could be used for something else.

Yes, some info is still valid, but how are your kids (or anybody else) going to know what is still good and what is out of date? They will have to look it up somewhere else to find out, won't they? :rolleyes:

[Clover]

I also have a set of 40 year old encycolpedias (without the annuals). Not to belabor the point...certain facts are still facts. My kids have used them to see what a country's flag looks like, facts about already deceased people, things about the industrial revolution, etc. Obviously they can't use them for current or recent events.
This works at home because you can give your kids guidance on what's outdated and what isn't. But in a school or library, children's collections need to be kept more up-to-date than adult collections because you can't expect children to take into account the copyright date and figure out whether the information is still accurate or not. They will assume everything in there is useable information.

I don't think anyone wants old encyclopedias unless maybe they want to recycle them as some sort of art object. Didn't Kramer on Seinfeld make a coffee table out of a coffee-table book? I'm seeing a library table with old encyclopedias as the base.

[donnamp14]

Hi Khrm. You wrote "I am a teacher who limits the use of Internet sources, and I require my students to go to the library for reseach. Yes, the Internet is a great resource, but it isn't completely comprehensive. There are sources in libraries that simply can't be found online."

I completely understand the need for students to get to the library to do their assignments, but many libraries have Britannica and Americana encyclopedias online, exclusively. These sources are complete and up to date. Some restrictions apply, such as home dial-in access, etc. Each library or library network has its own contractual restrictions and requirements. I am in agreement about getting them to do serious research and learning to evaluate resources, but just be aware that some libraries don't even have the most up to date editions in print. They may be available as electronic-only.

It really is a new world. I sometimes wonder if I am ready for it. :confused:

-Donna

[tamawrite]

Unfortunately, I have to agree that they're trash unless somebody wants them for decoration.

Their purchase price, while significant at the time, is what is known in economics as a "sunk cost." It can't be recovered, and there's no point spending more resources (your time or space, in this instance) trying to recover a value that has already been lost.

[Kathy B]

I took our old set to the recycle center, and when I asked the girl working there if they went in the paperboard container, she asked if she could see them. She looked at them, then asked if she could have them! I would definitely try posting them on a work BB or ebay or in a church newsletter or whatever places you may think of to see if anyone wants them free. THEN if you have no takers, recycle.

P. S. They DO go in the paperboard bin if you end up recycling! :D

[MKSquared]

I wouldn't use them in my classroom. I would, however, welcome them because our school is using paper recycling as a fundraiser. If the pages were ripped out, they could earn us money! Check around in your area if there are any organizations recycling paper for cash.

I'm trying to convince DBF that his 23-year-old set of encyclopedias are out of date, he's not going to use them ... I asked him to look up the USSR and East Germany for me ... :p They're totally just taking up space.

[Heidi]

Freecycle, Craig's List or just plain RECYCLE them!

[jmarie]

Why not just ask the principal of a school if she knows a family that would enjoy them. Children love leafing through pages looking at pictures. They could even cut the pictures out for projects. The family I gave mine to used them for that and they had a child who read everything including the print on the toothpaste tube. Mine was old, not 40 years, but probably 20 years and the children loved them, at least that is what I was told. I am thinking that because they are old, does not make them worthless. Maybe to you and me, but not to some. Some of us are blessed more than others. One man's trash is another's treasure, sort of thinking.
Joyce

[funnybone]

Perhaps someone on Ebay would buy them?

[Canice]

...
I'm trying to convince DBF that his 23-year-old set of encyclopedias are out of date, he's not going to use them ... I asked him to look up the USSR and East Germany for me ... :p They're totally just taking up space.

I had a 12-volume atlas that was hopelessly out of date when my aunt gave them to me circa 1979. When I finally tossed them, in the early '90s, they were so old, parts were NEW again, lol. Hey look - Latvia! Estonia! One Germany!

53 outdated books is rather a burdensom "heirloom" - hope you find a solution that works for you.

[badunnin]

I'm trying to convince DBF that his 23-year-old set of encyclopedias are out of date, he's not going to use them ... I asked him to look up the USSR and East Germany for me ... :p They're totally just taking up space.

Heck, look up Pluto and the planets in our solar system! :p

[BucknellAlum]

Perhaps someone on Ebay would buy them?

Ebay has a 1956 complete set of World Book encyclopedias - the auction closes very soon, with a $29.99 minimum bid and $15 shipping, but no bids have been made on them at all.

The various rummage sales and thrift stores I have donated to always seem to list that they do not take encyclopedias or National Geographics. I doubt there is much of a market for them.

[Grace]

This thread has been funny! Who knew there'd be such interest! :D It's like the old white elephant gift. No one wants those darned old encylopedias!! :D :D

[mbrogier]

If the books are attractively bound, you could make lamps out of them by stacking a few books together, glueing them, drilling through the middle to pass a lamp pole, and shellacing the outside of the books. I have an article on it.

I've also seen people make book marks out of the center binding of damaged books. I thought that was pretty cool.

My mom has a set of World Book encyclopedias as well. They're in great shape, and I loved reading them as a kid.

[tea4one]

Oh, what memories. I remember the ones we had growing up, first set was white with dark brown spines and then the second set was dark brown and black spine. I can't remember how many yearbooks/childcraft books we had but with those and the encyclopedia set, it filled a good sized bookcase. It sadly, all got donated. I think it is easier using a DVD/CD/internet though.

[NancyR]

How sad to see something that people used to scrimp and save for become useless junk :( . I am old enough to remember how people saved for a set of encyclopedias like they saved for college tuition. I'm not helping here, just sad.
I like the idea of making lamp bases. Many interior decorators also use books with pretty spines to dress up show homes.
I also remember seeing a website awhile back where they were taking old books and making blank "notebooks" out of them. They cut off the front and back covers, filled them with blank paper of your choice and then had them spiral bound. Any Kinkos can do that for you. Does that make sense?