BOOK SWAP OVERVIEW
If your family has accumulated books that you no longer want that are suitable for children at St. Mary’s (DON’T SEND ANY HEIRLOOMS!), send them to the Book Swap (usually in the spring). I’ll keep a record of how many points they add up to and your children may then choose other books up to that value. (Hardcover books are worth 4 points, paperbacks 2 points, magazines 1 point.) It gets a little complicated but we manage!
We like to warn students that they may not find enough trades to use up their points. It all depends on what the other students bring in. They could let their friends use up the leftover points, perhaps. It’s interesting to watch this as an experiment in free enterprise, democracy and consumerism...The kids have to figure out the value of their contribution versus the commodities they’re interested in. This is not a classroom exercise by any means but some learning is going on.
A plus, of course, is that the children come away with fresh reading material just in time for summer vacation. Another advantage is that it’s the time of the year when I weed out old books from the library shelves, so maybe these can find a second chance in somebody’s home, too.
The dates of actual trading sessions, then, will be at lunch time on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, around the time the library closes in May. It would help if books came in ahead of those days, so that we can assess how many points they’re worth beforehand and set up an “account” for each student who participates. Do make sure any incoming books are identified as to whom they’re from. You don't need to mark each book; we just want to make sure the right person gets credit.
So dig out those unwanted books and we’ll see you at the Book Swap!