I come from a family of readers, so I spent much of my formative youth at our neighborhood used book store.  Every couple of months, my mom would gather up paperbacks from around the house and put them in brown grocery bags, and we would carry them to a small storefront where we could trade these books for different ones.  While we browsed the shelves, an elderly gentlemen would rummage through our bags, sorting the books into stacks by way of a process that was only logical to him.  He would then take my mom's 3 x 5 index card that he kept on file in a small box and add our credits to that card.  Every visit, one or two rejected books would be placed back in our grocery bags.  The shelves were filled with a lot of mass market fiction, and of course there were whole rooms full of Westerns, mysteries and romance novels.  (Unfortunately, I spent too much of my formative youth in the Silhouette Romance room.)  My mom still goes to the used book swap store, and we even took my kids there last year.  I think Luke chose a Rescue Heroes book, and Carter got an "abridged" Little House on the Prairie Book.

Once I was older, I wondered if we got a good deal on the swap.  The swap was not 1 to 1.  It was more like 2 to 1, if that.  Surely, if we could eliminate the rent on the storefront and the gentlemen with the index file, it could be closer to 1 to 1.  I have found a website that attempts to do just that!

Today I registered as a "charter member" at PaperBackSwap.com.  I heard about this site from a March 2007 article in Real Simple on how to get things for free.  At this site (PBS, they like to call themselves, probably targeting members' literary and public bent), a would-be swapper merely registers and lists at least 9 books that the member is willing to swap.  Once someone requests a book, then the member mails it to the requester at the member's expense (generally $1.60 for a paperback, the site says).  Then, the member receives one credit and may request someone else's book, which is then sent to the member at the sender's expense.  Also, by joining and listing 9 books, the member receives 3 credits.  So, the swap seems to be 1 to 1 or slightly better.  Hurrah for PBS!

From the terms and conditions, I gather that in the future, money may change hands.  The site owners warn that in the future they may charge $10 or $20 a year for membership, possibly advanced membership.  Also, in the future, members may be able to purchase credits.  The site does not seem to have any  advertising, so some profit model woudl seem to have to kick in at some time.  Currently, the site does have a "co-op-y" feel to it.  I had to attest that I would not use the site for commercial purposes or for program resales.  My books do not have the front covers torn off and are not advance copies.  I also had to attest that I was not an inmate in any institution.

I haven't chosen my first three books yet, but I'll come back with an update once the requesting/mailing process begins!

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