Do Libraries Really Destroy Books?

Out of necessity, sometimes yes.

From an article on NPR...

When you want to talk about libraries, you talk to the American Library Association, so I spoke to Betsy Simpson, the president of the ALA's Association For Library Collections & Technical Services. She told me that while there are always choices to be made because it's simply not possible for every library to collect and retain every book, it's not as if they're throwing books in the shredder because they don't care. "Libraries really take seriously their mission to preserve the cultural record," she says.

But it's tough. Not only are there challenges that come from the limited space and the vast number of new books that come out every year (and month) (and week), but the number of functions that library users are looking for from libraries is increasing as well. "The space issue is a concern," Simpson says, "because more and more, there's a realization that our users need space to interact and collaborate and space to contemplate." When you need more space for group work, you can't pack every inch of your library with more shelves just to avoid getting rid of books.


Furthermore, there are ways other than destroying books to deal with space limitations, and libraries typically try those first. Simpson points out that libraries have book sales and, in some cases, permanent bookstores for books they don't want to keep (there's a bookstore just like that where she works, at the University of Florida). On top of that, there are growing initiatives to create "shared print repositories," where books can be stored offsite and remain available for retrieval when they're needed. It's not as convenient as keeping books on-site, but it means you can still give your users access to that book.