DO NOT donate books to the Salvation Army in Warren Street.
For years, and years, and certainly the last 13 years that I have been in business and calling in, 6 days a week....they have been throwing away your donations with no thought.
The nicest, newest, most interesting of books- in perfect condition..in the bin,
Classic books of historical merit..in the bin,
Beautiful vintage children's books, those treasured survivors from your childhood (or your parents) with the inscription "Love from Mummy and Daddy, Xmas, 1959".in the bin.
You can check for yourself on recycling day if you can sneak a peek into the recycling bin.
It defies belief, it defies all logic....it is simply that the woman in charge of books has a very small list in her head of books she likes...Danielle Steel, the most generic of cook and craft books ..and only ever in the smallest quantities imaginable.
Every week literally $100's of dollars thrown in the bin.
The organisation itself is absolutely resistant to any help or guidance.
Occasionally a staff member will put some different book on the shelves ..the one time they put out some early edition Enid Blyton's for example. They of course sold. Numerous customers took the time to comment on their thrill at seeing them.
But no. Never again.
In fact the lady in charge of books seemed so aggrieved at that small bust of activity she actually threw out all the books waiting to be shelved and almost overnight halved the number of books available on the shelves.
Madness.
And no, I have no idea why they accept book donations.
I have actually had people appear at my shop, in tears, when they realised half way through unloading their donations of book collections, that the people in charge were simply taking them, turning around, and throwing them directly into the bin. One particularly memorable incident was an elderly architects lifetime collection of beautiful hardcovers. But all "collections" on any given topic, are simply bin fillers. Apart from books on the All Blacks ..of course..
Books left in boxes outside the shop after hours are also all thrown straight in the bin as "we don't know what has been done to them" "someone may have urinated on them" ..which I would have thought would be an identifiable issue ..I guess in theory someone could have ..maybe slept on them? ..but then who knows what happens to books before they are put in the donation bins? I once fell asleep on a book at home...yikes!! And that suit you purchased from the Salvation Army..do you know its history? .what foul deeds could have been committed by its previous owner all while wearing said suit ..the mind boggles!!
I have stopped myself writing this piece for years, but in some ways I feel compliant in this whole situation.
Next time you wish to donate books ..take them to any one of the many Charity shops in town that you support ..but whatever you decide...do not take them to Warren Street.
