Is There A Book Sharing Network?

dmorin asks: "Having recently been laid off I find myself with more time to read and less money to spend on books. I stare at the shelves full of books I already have, most of which I won't read again, and wonder if there's an easy way to move them around the universe a bit. Get some new ones. I've thought about eBay, but I'm not sure that time and effort (cataloging, pricing, describing, shipping, etc..) would ever balance out. What I'm looking for is a site where people basically say 'Hey, here are some books I have, if you want one, I'll send it to you.' Note I didn't say 'sell'. This would be more about keeping the books in circulation for the sake of getting fresh stuff to read, not for making a profit. You paid for the book, you got something out of it, now let somebody else share it. And, of course, you're supposed to be asking other people for their books, too. Anything like that out there? Would anybody use such a thing?"

"This is not Book Crossing. Although I find that an awesome idea, I'm looking for more of a steady stream of books at my disposal, not just being lucky enough to stumble upon one under a picnic table.

I suppose such a service would have to have some sort of karma/moderation system to make sure that people were playing nice and not just hoarding others' books (since, unlike bookcrossing, the person donating would have to cough up some money for shipping it)."

Comments

It wouldn't work, buying/selling is practical

[RalphBNumbers]

You need to make people pay for what they get, even if it is a big markdown over new books.
If not you'll run into the same tradgedy of the commons that ruins all systems with insufficinet accountability. Every user will have more incentive to take from the system than to give, and since these books are a finite resource, they will be quickly snapped up (especially the ones worth reading).
A karma like system might lessen this problem, but it would have to be pretty strict to keep the system flowing with finite, and probably scarce resources.

A system facilitating free market exchanges of used books is about the closest to this concept that I can forsee working in real life. You might try Amazon's marketplace for that kind of thing. They are better organized for books than ebay, however their shipping surcharges are somewhat exorbitant if you're just ordering little paperback books (shipping sometimes costs 4+ times a cheap used book's price).

I just had the very same idea

[km790816]

1. Someone sets up a web site where people can register themselves and their books
2. Advertise the site in a neighborhood or office (should be easy to go around and trade books w/ people)
3. (Optional) everyone puts up $20 that a trusted party (the web site owner?) holds. This is to make sure you don't get ripped off by strangers signing up and taking books. One may also want to set up a reputation for happily loaning so many books to others and also safely returning books. Basically establist Karma
4. People search for the books they want, find one, and set up a time with the owner to pick it up
5. The book is marked as 'out' so others on the site don't ask for it. Maybe there is a waiting list. The book owner can also use this to see who has her books and how long they've been out
6. The borrower returns the book when done. The owner marks it as availible. All is good.

Alright, a cookie to the first implementation!

Here's an idea

[Radical Rad]

I'm guessing you probably would be most interested in geek type books so what about getting on the mailing list of your local Linux User Group and offering your already read books and asking if others have any they wouldn't mind sharing? Then just meet up and swap at the next meeting. No shipping costs involved, you make some new friends, and you might even broaden your job search network enough to get some inside leads.