Giving Used Books New Life

What do you do with tens of thousands of books—30,000 to be exact—that need to be winnowed down to 8,000 to fit in the new Community Commons library? If you’re Nancy Solomon, you get resourceful.

At the beginning of the pandemic, parent Lulu Khoosanguanchai and her sons, Marrich ’22 and Marwyn ’20 Somridhivej, spent hours packing boxes of books to be stored in the Highland Street squash courts. COVID health protocols required that only a certain number of students could sit at the cafeteria tables simultaneously, necessitating using the library as the overflow dining hall.

Now, four-plus years later, the books are migrating back weekly—30 to 40 boxes a clip—labeled by the Dewey decimal systems. Currently, the 900s (geography, history) and the 800s (literary criticism) have returned to aid in research for the senior thesis. These books are arranged on a table for the seniors’ use.

However, there are still thousands of books to sort through and jettison. Solomon heard that squash coach Robby Lingashi was starting a school in his home country of Zambia. Already, Lingashi had a container to head overseas packed with furniture, but there was still plenty of space for books. Lingashi was delighted to hear about books no longer necessary at KO, a windfall for his new school. Ever the librarian, Solomon thought through the proper needs of the Zambian students. Her first question was: “What is the English proficiency?” The books are useless if they are not accessible. Solomon learned that there are seven different native tongues in Zambia based on a geographic region. When she heard that English is taught in upper elementary school, she got to work on a collection to send overseas.

Other books no longer needed in our library benefit a local organization, The Next Chapter, a used book store on South Main Street. Solomon learned of the non-profit through Peter Jones’s wife, Carey, a curriculum specialist in West Hartford. The Next Chapter, run by the West Hartford public schools, employs young people 18-22 years of age with intellectual disabilities and teaches them essential job skills. Every week, the crew from The Next Chapter drives a van to KO and fills it to the brim with 25 boxes.

Solomon describes the work as laborious. She personally has to decide which books to keep and which to give away —indeed, Solomon’s choice! She is intrinsically tied to the KO curriculum and understands which books and materials are relevant to today’s learning. Her parent volunteers pack up the unnecessary books and delete them from the computer system.

Solomon is incredibly grateful for the time and effort her volunteers commit to the project and welcomes everyone to join in. There’s a perk, too. You may get a few free books out of the arrangement.