4 — Friday, July 16, 1993 — North Shore News Judging a book by its cover Trevor Ins I DUNNO. 1 think it’s scandalous. Bui one man scandal may be another man’s yawn, You judge. Here’s the nut of it: a whole lot of West Vancouver school books have gone to the shredder. Destroyed. Pulped. Kaput. And very few West Vancou residents knew that the books were free for the taking before they were sent to the book guillotine. The story unfolded to me this way: A few weeks ago a West Van- couver resident and his young son happened to notice boxes and boxes of books under cover at the old Cedardale school, now an in- structional centre. These books, videos and other classroom material, he discovered, were going to be pulped the very next day. lronically, a teacher was helpi herself to some of the stuff — ex- plaining that she could use it in her classroom. So the man and his son went through the boxes and came away with a number of books. Among them, unbelievably, was a full set of encyclopedia. The » name, the Merit Student's En- cyclopedia, was unknown to me But it’s no Mickey Mouse set — well printed, well bound, and in perfect, like-new condition. School board officials whom | interviewed later told me that all the discarded material was out of date. But this set bore the last printing date of 1981. There were many other books. One, a mystery set in New- foundland, was published in 1954, -but the parents of the boy who stumbled on this cache are finding it entertaiiing. How could this possibly hap pen? . Board officials say they offered the books around. First, within the West Van school system. Then to others: the West Vancouver Memorial Library, church groups, prisons. George Stewart, assistant direc- tor of curriculum development, i couldn’t put a number on how Robson Cycles Ltd. is now in it's 10th season with C.gRed ff GARDEN OF BIASES many books were involved. But he said the material filled 50 or 60 boxes. He estimated that only about 30% of the stuff was taken. The rest was left at Cedardale, free to anyone who, like the man and his son mentioned above, stumbled on them. Doug Player, school board su- perintendent, isn't around to be questioned. He's off in San Diego upgrading his education. But board chairman Peter Bradshaw basically backs the ad- ministrative staff’s decision. So does past chairman Barbara Howard and the board’s most in- dependent member, Margot Fu Mr. Bradshaw said: ‘i hada look through a number of the books and I certainly accept the judgment of our professionals that they are no longer appropriate for the education of our ki “We'd just love to find some way to dispose of them that would benefit other people.”’ As a geologist who has worked with Third World countries, Mr. Bradshaw added that textbooks usually aren’t worth the cost of transferring them because they aren’t applicable to those coun- tries. But George Stewart, Peter Bradshaw and others. interviewed did agree that next time — and this was the board’s first clean- out for five or six years of books considered obsolete — the board might figure out a way to let mo residents know that the books are available gratis. I remarked that a simple call to the North Shore News to suggest a brief news story on the disposal would have been cas Peter Bradshaw agreed, recall- ing that The Vancouver Sun, the CBC, and CKNW offer communi- ty calendars that might have car- ried the item, This time, though, Mr. Brad- shaw conceded, ‘I guess we miss ed the boar.*’ Coincidentally, | have another book beef, though much milder. I have alot of trouble with the West Van Memorial Library's an- nual book sal I know, it’s terribly popular — with those who pick up the books at bargain prices, mostly $1 or $2 for hard-covers, 25 cents for aperbacks. Last nonth’s sale — again, of books considered worn out, ob- solete, or just plain unread — disposed of 12,000 books or more, and brought in $7,700 worth of ngle. The gleeful bargain-hunters and the library will hate me [or it, but I Natly think the library gets rid of too many worthwhile books that simply aren't in much de- man In the next breath, | admit to understanding the realities ofa fairly small library, as explained by chief librarian Jack Mounce. It simply isn’t big enough to keep the stuff that doesn’t move. it doesn’t fall into my (elitist) definition of a library: a place that keeps many books that are very seldom read. Thus, at last year’s sale, 1 pick- ed up an excellent 1951 set of En- cyclopedia Americana for only $30. A jazz critic with an outstand- ing record and book collection bought four such jazz-related books at last month’s sale. I This tells me that, notwithstan- ding its fine status as Canada’s most-used library — highest number of books borrowed per capita — West Vancouver's beloved, small library will remain that way. Beloved and small. yi 3 stores to # serve the Lower Mainland area, professional sales people and mechanics, and the most competitive prices around. We will provide the highest quality service for you and your bicycle. | Hahanna Fire Mountain Lava Dome Cinder Cone Kilauea Robson price “$5 19 wifree Dewey bar handlebar extensions $599 wifree Dewey bars $749 wifree Dewey bars and Clip-on fenders $879 wifree Dewey bars and Clip-on fenders $1 149 witree Dewey bars and Bel! Triumph helmet $1595 wifree Dewey bars and Bell Triumph helmet * 1 + 4 y reerro FREBE ta. eit Fun House DEAL ASK ABOUT THE ADDITIONAL SAVINGS ON CUSTOM BLIND ORDERS FOR 8 Windows OR MORE. AWE Choose from a wide variety of custom Mini, Micro and Vertical Blinds. 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