Library Book

[at68491]

I bought a book through Ebay and when it arrived, it appeared to have been borrowed from a library, as I see nothing indicating it was given away by the library. What should I do?

[wastingtime101]

What do you expect to see that would indicate it was given away by the library?

I've purchased tons of books from my local library's book sale and they all have regular library stamps and markings with no indication the item was weeded out of the library's offerings. That's completely normal.

[evry1nositswindy]

It was probably sold at a library book sale; some are marked discarded and others are not.  

[megafo_8472]

Search the name of the library for their website. Many of them have their phone number and sometimes an email address listed. Then just call or email them and ask whether it was a 'discard'.

Make sure you also have the packaging handy, in case the book is stolen (so you can provide them with the name and address of the person who sold it). 

[biggymoe · Accepted solution]

Read it and enjoy it.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

The number of books deaccessioned by libraries is greater than you may realize. Many libraries mark the in no way.

If the book is a few years old fiction, or out of date popular non-fiction, the odds are they are legitimately acquired.

If they are rare books of value there could be a small chance that they were stolen. I would bet against that since there are better ways to sell such books than Ebay.

Libraries are desperate to get books no one reads off of their shelves, and the companies they counted on to buy them 10 years ago would not buy them today. Many books never sell any copies to other than libraries and no one takes them out of libraries. Hence the success of Overdrive and other services which allow library card holders to borrow ebooks.

[kensgiftshop]

Our library gives old books away all the time and there's no way to tell they were given away.

[megafo_8472]

But then there are people who slip books into their bag or jacket and walk out without checking them out. That's why most big city libraries now put RFID tags in their books and have detectors at the door.

[soh.maryl]

Mine is a relatively small library, and they do not have detectors at the door.  

[megafo_8472]

Biggymoe, if you're out to boost your post count AT LEAST contribute something worthwhile.

[soh.maryl]

Our local library sells them at periodic book sales and they are marked "Discard" or in some other way.  You couldn't mistake them for a book currently in circulation.  But perhaps not all libraries do that.  

[soh.maryl]

Is there a reason you felt the urge to insult one of your responders? 

And it DOES appear from responses here that not all libraries handle discards the same way.  

[biggymoe]

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@megafo_8472 wrote:

Biggymoe, if you're out to boost your post count AT LEAST contribute something worthwhile.

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I'm guessing that you have heard of the book "How To Win Friends And Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.  Since we are discussing books, I would suggest that you read it, or reread it.

Your response to  wastingtime101 was completely uncalled for.  

My post was to express that I didn't understand the angst the OP was feeling about this book.  My thought is that it is about 96.7% that this book is legit..  I would keep it, read it, and enjoy it, without another thought.

[gone.c-33]

Isn’t that one of the books that inspired Charles Manson? 😂

[yuzuha]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

Our local library sells them at periodic book sales and they are marked "Discard" or in some other way.  You couldn't mistake them for a book currently in circulation.  But perhaps not all libraries do that.  

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Not all of them do, no. My local library has book sales every so often too and I've never seen a book there marked as "Discard."