Crowds retrieve 100,000 books dumped in skip

by Diane Duane

Crowds retrieve 100,000 books dumped in skip

Almost 100,000 new books were dumped into a skip outside a Derry bookshop today after the receiver ordered that the contents of the shop, which closed two years ago, should be disposed of.

…The books, valued at £60,000 (€74,253), were all new.

…As word quickly spread crowds descended on Bishop Street to avail of the book bonanza. Many motorists double parked causing temporary traffic jams as they helped themselves to dozens of the books.

Looking on as the skip was filled and re-filled with the books was Peter MacKenzie, the former joint owner of the Bookworm bookshop.

“I opened the book shop in 1978 and it was my life’s work until I was declared bankrupt in 2012.

“The books were my assets which were seized. The building was also seized and now it has been for sale for the last two years with an asking price of £375,000.

“Four years ago the same building was valued at just over £2 million.

“It’s heartbreaking to see what was once my life’s work being dumped into a skip but at least the books are being grabbed by members of the public and fair play to them”, he said.

This was crossposted from DD’s tumblr http://ift.tt/1inh3TC, where it was published on June 11, 2014 at 10:31AM

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6 comments

P J Evans June 13, 2014 - 12:15 am

Would have been nice if more people had bought them when the place was open for business….

Dwight Williams June 13, 2014 - 12:17 am

Yes, it would.

AM June 28, 2014 - 10:03 am

Maybe they blew all of their money on rubbish like food or rent instead

Dwight Williams June 13, 2014 - 12:16 am

The sight of this is indeed a mixed blessing. Thirty-plus years of making a life this way for Mr. MacKenzie…

In Ottawa, our luck in saving independent booksellers has been mixed as well. We’ve lost Leishman, Sunshine, Collected Works and others, but Perfect Books and Books on Beechwood remain with us. Hopefully for many years, and others still yet to join their ranks. E-books or not, I can’t see the hardcopy completely fading away. Ever.

P J Evans June 15, 2014 - 7:11 pm

Hardcopy is satisfying in ways that e-books can’t be.

AM June 28, 2014 - 10:00 am

This attitude is commodity fetishism, not genuine love of what books contain

Comments are closed.

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