Bookmooch: All readers. What do I do with my books in my will?

Any ideas?

I am not planning to die anytime soon. However, I want my will done so that, should anything happen to me, whatever is left of what I have, will go to the people I want to have it, which it won't unless I have a will.

I have about 1100-1300 books.

I don't feel wonderful about giving them to the local Friends of the Library since I know that, between sales, the unsold books are warehoused and not available to anyone.

My relatives don't want them. I've checked with the few I still have contact with.

My friends are unenthusiastic about having them taking up their space.

All suggestions considered. The final suggestion that I accept and use needs to be as little hassle as possible for my executor, who lives very far away from me. She is still willing to be my executor since I don't have anyone else to do it for me.

Please consider for me.

Thank you.

http://www.bookmooch.com/m/inventory/evy47

No I haven't updated my inventory on Bookmooch, yet. I am planning to do so when I have done everything else that needs doing immediately.

You could make a list of possibilities for your executor.

They could have a few of your books on a table at the wake... the idea that they could take a book or two that reminds them of you.... if they shared one of your interests. A dear friend of mine died a couple of years ago & he had lots of books. His family knew that I shared his love of books, so they went through & chose the ones that they wanted (very few) & then told me to take what I wanted. (very dangerous!!)

I know that some bookstores will buy complete libraries of books... such as from an estate. One that did/does is John King in Detroit... check with the larger ones near you...

If you have any "collections" that might be of interest to a college or other school.

Senior Citizen Centers, Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Apartments, & Hospitals like to have general interest books for residents, patients & staff.

There are all sorts of possibilities... just keep asking & listening.

Your books will be your legacy!

I know some of the larger Barnes and Noble stores will also buy back books and resell them at heavily discounted prices. The money earned from it could go back to the estate?

Maybe you can see if any charities within driving distance are willing to pick up your books, perhaps?

Or you could arrange to have your family release them into the world bookcrossing-style?

Yes, my books are the only things I have much of.

Everything else I have is fairly standard.

So far, thank you for the very good ideas. I hadn't thought of any of these ideas.

Brainstorm all you want. We are discussing 1100-1300 books. They will probably be more numerous by the time my journey here is done.

Happy reading,

Evy

http://www.bookmooch.com/m/inventory/evy47

A viking funeral, with the boat piled high with books. Take them with you to Valhalla!

We all hope you stay with us forever Evy :)

Having worked in a very large (and aging...) academic department for several years, I have seen the passing of quite a few profs with book collections running into the thousands of titles. Some families do this, which seems quite reasonable: invite friends, family and colleagues to look through the books and take what is dear to them, then (if somewhat valuable) have a local used book store in to place an offer on the lot, most stores will donate unwanted books to local libraries. The money can either go to the estate, or perhaps a favorite charity.

After my father died we dealt with his very large collection of books in a variety of ways.

Of course my mother and the immediate family and very close friends were able to choose what they wanted to keep, before we did anything else, then after we separated out the academic books from all the others, we let anybody (almost literally), who came to the house, browse and take what they wanted.

A few valuable non-academic titles we found, we sold to a local dealer. The huge number of academic books (my father was Emeritus Professor of Semitic Languages and Biblical Studies at Cardiff University, and the author of several books on ancient Babylonia and Assyria), we sold to a specialist dealer in Oxford.

Whatever was left we donated to a variety of charity shops and church-fundraising groups etc.

I'm finding this fascinating. I have taken several really old books which were handed down through my family since the mid 1700s over to the university where I worked until retirement and they have gone into the rare book room or archives. Like you, Teazle, my sons will get first choice but I have taken the step of specifying which books are valuable and ought to stay in their possession or be sold carefully through a reputable dealer. The rest can be sold or given away as they choose.

Love the imagery of the viking funeral but also shuddered at the thought of books being destroyed.

I have been struggling with this problem, and i think the idea of letting friends in to pick what they want is a great idea. i dont have friends here yet, i just moved to Florida, but i do have a Unitaruan-Universalist church, and the church has a small library. I will ask the minister if it is ok to leave the collection to the church, and they can offer it to the congregation.

The members take the books from the current library as they wish, and leave any contribution they wish. It would be a big job to move them, but I could leave money to pay to have them packed and moved along with the bookcases. There is a big used bookstore that could take them or some charities. There is a charity here in St Petersburg called CASA that helps women who have sufferred from domestic violence. The even pick stuff up.

Another pair if places to look at is University/College books sales. If you have a local college that you'd like to support, then consider donating some portion of your books there after your death. The books will usually be sold, and the money raised used by the college. There are annual book sales here in Toronto at several of the U of T Colleges.

Also, you might check if any of the local charities have a mass book sale/giveaway day. Recently I volunteered at a book day that gave away 10,000+ books over 2 days to the people in a disadvantaged area of the city. Keep a list of such charities on hand for your executor, and they may be able to arrange pick-up when the sad time comes.

I read about Books for Africa a while back and it's the first thing that popped into my head: http://www.booksforafrica.org/

They would probably look to have some assistance with shipping the books to their destination. You can read about their requirements here: http://www.booksforafrica.org/books-computers/donate-books.html

Books For Africa accepts:
•10 years old or newer popular fiction and nonfiction reading books (soft and hard cover).
•10 years old or newer primary, secondary, and college textbooks (soft and hard cover).
•1995 or newer reference books such as encyclopedias and dictionaries.
•10 years old or newer medical, nursing, IT, and law books.
•Bibles are sent when requested by African recipients.
•School/office supplies—paper, pencils, pens, wall charts, maps, etc.

Books For Africa does NOT accept:
•Magazines or journals or any kind.
•Home decorating, wedding, or cookbooks.
•Ethnocentric books, such as the biography of Abraham Lincoln or the history of Ohio.
•Foreign language books except for French books. French novels and dictionaries are welcome.
•American history or civics.
•Music books for K–12.

I do live near the port of Seattle. I wonder who I would have to get permits from to do this. And I'm fairly certain the boat would sink.

It may take me time to work out the details.

Thanks for the suggestion. ;-)

Thank you for the encouragement.

Perhaps I need to stay alive long enough to read everything in my To Be Read pile. I don't think it will take me into the next century. It is difficult to be sure of that. I do read fast...

I think I will figure out how to do the sharing with friends. Many of my friends live far away. LibraryThing should be a help with this.

Perhaps I'll have more friends in this area by the time I die. Hard to tell. I've been here for two and a half years, so far.

I am glad I asked. Good ideas, all.

Love,

Evy

http://www.bookmooch.com/m/inventory/evy47

All these are fascinating ideas. I'm enjoying thinking about them. It's the most fun I've had in the whole will making process.

Evy

When I lived in Kansas, which I did for quite a while, the local library book sale, which was HUGE, parceled up and mailed the left overs to a school in the Phillipines that they found...somehow.

Hmmmmmmmm.

#5 how about the bathtub and a couple of planks ;)

ETA: to make it authentic I promise to put a viking helmet on you.

hey, wait until i'm dead first!

Sheesh. I haven't read those books yet.

#16: you'll have eternity in Valhalla to read them... between the banquets, that is!!

Bump