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Community Corner

Evanston Public Library Highlighted in National PBS News Segment

The library was mentioned for its affiliation and partnership with Better World Books, a company and social enterprise that aims to save old books from the trash for reuse and recycling.

The Evanston Public Library was recently highlighted in "Nightly Business Report," a national PBS news segment that examined the business model and practices of northwest Indiana-based Better World Books.

The Dec. 19 segment describes Better World Books as an “orphanage of sorts for used books.” The company accepts donations of used books from individuals and libraries across the country, then takes those titles and sorts them to be recycled, resold or donated to charity.

But the company also uses some of its profits to give money back to the libraries that shared their unwanted inventory. Evanston Public Library has both given books to the company and received a small amount of compensation.

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Over the past two and a half years, the Evanston Public Library system has sent Better World Books 21,335 titles and in return received $4,600 for library improvement and $1,500 for the system’s nonprofit literacy partner, Books for Africa.

To see the PBS story, either visit the Evanston Public Library website, where the piece is highlighted on the homepage, or go to the “Nightly Business Report” website and look for the Dec. 19 broadcast. The segment in which the library is mentioned can be found 22 minutes into the broadcast.

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