The Eternal Library and the Importance of Second Hand Books

In the basement of my favourite bookshop, W & A. Houben, I was able to find a book that not even the British Library could supply for me. The basement was a treasure trove of rare finds and former editions that could be picked up at a bargain. Obscure historical texts, leather bound works of Philosophy, and first editions of classic literature, to cheap second hand classics, it had it all. Afternoons were spent lost among the titles. Alas, to my heartbreak, the shop has since closed down and another franchise cafe has taken root.

It is a common cry called when independent bookshops and libraries face bankruptcy. The overused African proverb that “when an elder dies, a library burns” is put in context when actual libraries have their budgets cut and are shut down. The topic often causes community outcry and even national attention, yet the closures still take place.

However, in an odd turn, capitalism has provided a viable alternative. The rise of second hand book sites, not least of all through selling on amazon, allows one to pick up used books at competitive rates and to then sell them on after they have been devoured. The cost of purchasing a second hand book is returned after it is read and the book is sold on again. Postage paid, is postage reclaimed, most packaging can be reused, or, if it cannot, book sized jiffy bags are available for as little as 50p. It is in this way that the postage system accommodates what is perhaps the largest popular library in the world which is always open and in flux; a library that transcends international borders and is not confined by late fees. The need to sell books on in good condition deters vandalism, and one can take out as many books as one chooses. The downside and loss comes from the loss of space, instant gratification, and presence to knowledge which one has with libraries and second hand book shops.

Furthermore, the importance of second hand books should not be overlooked. No matter how much they might like to, very few readers can afford to buy, grow, and maintain extensive personal libraries- though most like to try. Second hand selling makes the works one desires available and neutralizes the cost. Moreover in the same way that musical instruments are meant to be played until they are worn dead, so books are meant to be read, and knowledge shared, rather than left to decay on shelves.

The eternal library of second hand selling is by no means ideal; it assumes the reader has the startup cost, private space to read the desired work, and that they are linked through technology and a postal route. Nonetheless, it is expanding knowledge beyond its former horizon. May that practice spring eternal.