Got Books?

Got Books is a Lawrence, Massachusetts-based for-profit book seller and fundraiser. The company collects book donations and repurposes and sells them in several ways. Got Books collects items throughout New England and also accepts CDs, DVDs, videos, and audio books.

Company Profile

History

Got Books was founded in 1999, as Community Book Solutions, by Bob Ticehurst. The company began as a part-time project for Ticehurst but quickly became a full-time business venture. [http://www.endicia.com/CaseStudies/GotBooks/ Endicia Case Studied - Got Books? ] ] As more books were being collected and sold, the operation expanded from a basement to a warehouse [http://www.bostonnow.com/business/local/2007/12/17/a-quick-read-on-got-books A quick read on Got Books | BostonNOW ] ] . Got Books is currently located at 104 Glenn Street, Suite 1 in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Mission

The mission of Got Books, a for profit business, is to find new uses for used books people no longer know what to do with or have use for and to keep books out of the trash.

ervices

Pick-Up Service

Got Books offers a free home pick-up service to residences and businesses in many areas of Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. This service is designed to collect books and other items from those who wish to give their goods to the company so that they may be repurposed. Pick-up appointments can be made with Got Books via telephone or on their official website.

Drop-Off Service

Got Books also has over 285 drop-off book donations containers or collection sites stationed throughout New England. These containers are meant to receive book, CD, DVD, video, and audio book donations from the public as an alternative to the pick-up service. Containers can be found in a variety of public and private spaces such as retail parking lots, churches, schools, or municipal transfer stations and recycling centers.

Book Sales

Many books which are collected are then used for sale at the company’s weekly Charity Book Sale. [http://earth911.org/blog/2007/11/01/got-books-wins-2007-massrecycle-award/ Got Books Wins 2007 MassRecycle Award » Earth 911 ] ] Items are sold for $1 apiece and half of each weekend’s book sale profits are donated directly to one of their nonprofit fundraising partners. Got Books also sells a portion of collected items in online marketplaces such as Amazon.com and Half.com.

Community

Fundraising

Got Books currently fundraises with many nonprofits, organizations, and municipalities through their book donation container program. Containers are placed at locations such as parking lots or town halls and they collect donations from the public. These items are picked-up and weighed by Got Books who then issues payment for poundage to the fundraising partner. [http://www.eagletribune.com/punewsnh/local_story_063060757.html Book value: Towns turn to program to reduce solid waste costs - EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA ] ]

Fundraising Partners

In addition to the number of groups the company raises money with through book donation containers, Got Books has established several fundraising partners through their Charity Book Sale. These partners are Local Heroes, Remarkable, Active, Resilient Adults (RARA), American Training, Adelante Youth Center, Creative Living, Lazarus House, the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, Massachusetts, the Historical Society of Andover, Massachusetts, and Debbie's Treasure Chest. Local Heroes is a group based in Wilmington, Massachusetts that sends care packages overseas to local servicemen and women. [ [http://mass-localheroes.org/ Local Heroes ] ] RARA provides educational and recreational activities for developmentally disabled adults. [ [http://www.raraagency.org/ Remarkable, Active, Resilient Adults Home Page ] ]

Municipalities

Towns and cities also host book donation containers, typically at their transfer station or recycling center. The motivation for this is often to reduce weight in their waste stream and ultimately reduce the cost of their trash removal. Got Books is currently preventing over 200 tons of books per month from being thrown away.

Donations

Got Books also uses collected books as donations to area schools, libraries, and other groups. They have a program which gets teachers free books for their classrooms and also give away goods to other social causes and nonprofit groups, such as the American Cancer Society and Sylvan Learning. Got Books has also donated 1,000 children’s books to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s “Cable Cares” initiative which is intended to aid the many schools in the New Orleans area that lost their libraries in Hurricane Katrina. [ [http://www.ciconline.org/cablecares Cable in the Classroom - Cable Cares! ] ]

Books for Troops Program

Got Books established a program in 2008 wherein they pledge to send at least 25,000 books overseas to local troop members within the year. The program provides boxes of 50-100 books to each recipient.

Books for Teachers Program

Got Books has a program focused on getting free and discounted books to local educators and schools. Through the Books for Teachers program, schools can begin a fundraising partnership with Got Books and also receive free books for the school, school group, library, or educational department.

Partnership with Massachusetts Literacy Foundation & Boston Herald

Got Books created a partnership with the Massachusetts Literacy Foundation and the Boston Herald In Education program in the fall of 2007. The partnership is intended to provide financial support and Herald newspapers in the classroom to schools around Massachusetts. Participating schools place book donation containers which raise money for the respective school and also support the work of the MLF. [http://www.massliteracy.org/documents/got_books_letter.pdf]

Awards

Got Books was awarded the 2007 Recycling Business Green Binnie Award from MassRecycle, the Massachusetts Recycling Coalition. According to MassRecycle, Got Books earned the award by providing “outstanding book collection and processing services to both commercial and residential generators of recyclable material (books, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes).” Award officials also said that Got Books “developed, maintain, and has grown an exemplary in-house book reuse system that maximizes waste diversion.”

References