It was a pleasure to burn.

[Babs]

On book burnings, government-mandated:

I had posted some time ago about concerns that the consumer safety legislation going into effect this week -- legislation prompted by the problems with toys made in china -- had been worded so that its requirements extended to kids' books in addition to toys. We (that is, librarians) had been hoping for a last minute exemption so that libraries would not have to undertake the expense (estimated at millions for an average metropolitan library system) of submitting entire children's collections for safety testing.

But the legislation has gone into effect unaltered. Libraries have been granted a one-year stay in which to have all their books tested for safety.

But, stores have not been granted a stay. Retail outlets of any kind are no longer allowed to distribute childrens books from before 1985. Salvation Army and Goodwill are disposing of books by the thousands, and some are refusing accept or sell any childrens books at all (because it's easier than trying to sort out which are legal). Used book stores will also have to dispose of their inventory.

For some reason this is getting very little media attention, but if you google you'll find reports from some outlets.

I have put together a collection of thousands of books for my son, probably 80-90 percent of which I purchased from used book stores or Goodwill and are pre-1985 (I favor these because the bindings were nicer back then).

This pisses me off SO BAD. A lot of these books are out of print and no longer available in new format. Yet we're going to burn the ones we have?

Alexandria weeps for us.

[beelzebabette]

On book burnings, government-mandated:

I had posted some time ago about concerns that the consumer safety legislation going into effect this week -- legislation prompted by the problems with toys made in china -- had been worded so that its requirements extended to kids' books in addition to toys. We (that is, librarians) had been hoping for a last minute exemption so that libraries would not have to undertake the expense (estimated at millions for an average metropolitan library system) of submitting entire children's collections for safety testing.

But the legislation has gone into effect unaltered. Libraries have been granted a one-year stay in which to have all their books tested for safety.

But, stores have not been granted a stay. Retail outlets of any kind are no longer allowed to distribute childrens books from before 1985. Salvation Army and Goodwill are disposing of books by the thousands, and some are refusing accept or sell any childrens books at all (because it's easier than trying to sort out which are legal). Used book stores will also have to dispose of their inventory.

For some reason this is getting very little media attention, but if you google you'll find reports from some outlets.

I have put together a collection of thousands of books for my son, probably 80-90 percent of which I purchased from used book stores or Goodwill and are pre-1985 (I favor these because the bindings were nicer back then).

This pisses me off SO BAD. A lot of these books are out of print and no longer available in new format. Yet we're going to burn the ones we have?

Alexandria weeps for us.

So you're saying last weekend would have been a good time to go barter at the used book store. Now you tell me.

(It is sad that children's books won't get a second life through goodwill, in particular.)

[Babs]

So you're saying last weekend would have been a good time to go barter at the used book store. Now you tell me.

(It is sad that children's books won't get a second life through goodwill, in particular.)

Who needs to barter when you can rummage through the dumpster?

[PaloAltoCougar]

What are the dangers of Chinese-made, or older American-made, books? Might they contain lead or other toxic chemicals? I hadn't heard this was even a problem. In our younger days, Mrs. PAC loved to go to used book sales and pick up dozens, nay, hundreds of old books for the kids. Seriously, do we need to go Bonfire of the Vanities on classics like Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel or Millions of Cats?

[Babs]

What are the dangers of Chinese-made, or older American-made, books? Might they contain lead or other toxic chemicals? I hadn't heard this was even a problem. In our younger days, Mrs. PAC loved to go to used book sales and pick up dozens, nay, hundreds of old books for the kids. Seriously, do we need to go Bonfire of the Vanities on classics like Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel or Millions of Cats?

I like Mrs. Pac. She's my kind of shopper.

The concern with newer books is that the covers are often plastic and often assembled in China, so they may carry the same risks that other made-in-China toys do.

With pre-1985 books, the concern is not the covers, but the ink. It was in 1985 that lead was outlawed for use in any pigmentation (it had been outlawed in paint several years earlier), so it is theoretically possible that lead-based inks were used in books printed before 1985. This is true of adult books, as well. But there is not a single recorded instance of a child ever suffering lead poisoning from a book, and there's no evidence that lead was routinely used in these books to begin with. For whatever reason, the legislation does not allow for pre-1985 books to be tested -- it simply says they must be discarded or otherwise removed from distribution.

[kccougar]

Best post of the week!

No, not because books will be destroyed. I actually had read nothing about this and think that it is a shame.

But...I wanted to post a picture of my favorite children's book, one I had as a kid and that my mother found an old copy of at a small nursery school in NY and gave to my first son when he was little. Andrew Henry's Meadow. It probably has lead in the ink, but I don't care.



Since then, it has been reprinted for its 40th Anniversary so you can find it much easier (and safer, I guess.)

When I went searching just now on Google, I found out someone is making a movie from the book. Very cool, so thanks for the post!