In article .com,
"midlib" wrote:

I am a middle school librarian with a limited budget. I have been
granted permission to sell my back issues of Nat'l Geographics to
generate funds for badly needed new materials. My stash goes back to
the mid 1950s and most are in at least "good" shape; almost no maps
remain in them. I'd prefer one fast, easy transaction. What's my best
bet?

Having a bake sale in the library would be more profitable, or selling
pencils on a street corner out of a tin cup. Even the Goodwill would be
apt to sell those magazines only as recycled paper since they've already
got scads of the magazines difficult to sell for a quarter each. Your best
bet is to find a gradeschool art teacher & give them away so that littler
school kids can cut them up for collages. I'm sure the art teacher is as
hard up for art supplies as you are for library supplies.

Post-1950 issues of the Geographic have no particular value, & are easy to
get for nickles or quarters at the Salvation Army in mint condition
supposing anyone wanted them, & maps intact.

Since even you believe these magazines are worthless for the library
stacks, why would anyone else want to pay actual money for them? For your
fund-raising to work people would have to be personally invested in
helping the specific school, since the "prizes" for donations are of such
small consequence.

Perhaps you can coordinate your fundraiser through the school's PTA, as is
done by actual school librarians in order to reach the specific parents
who will care.

Before anyone will even believe you're doing official fundraising, they
would have to know for which school & by whose authority you are doing
this alleged fundraising. Fundraising Book Fairs coordinated through PTAs
or by school youth groups can get books donated by the hundreds, a few
perhaps worthy of adding to the school library itself, the rest offered
very cheaply at the "library fundraising sale" in the school gym or some
church basement, manned by PTA volunteers & yourself. In this environment
you might be able to off-load a few of the unwanted magazines too, the
leftovers going to that gradeschool art teacher.

You could also distribute through the PTA or PTSA a request for parents &
teachers &/or students to purchase for the school individual books or
supplies, with the suggested expenditure of $20 per parent, & you
providing the purchase lists. It could be arranged to be tax deductible &
encourage donors to go above the $20 suggested donation, while making it
clear even the minimum would be a great help.

If you're on the level, it's tragic you're reduced to begging in
newsgroups, & I do feel for your situation of having to try to sell
something close to worthless in hopes of bringing in a few library
supplies. Libraries should be high-priority in schools, but obviously
rarely have much priority at all, & much of the limited funding nowadays
is siphoned away from books in favor of computers, with schools
encouraging kids' deteriorating interest in books.

-paghat the ratgirl
--
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