Miriam Geib - A Hybrid Bookseller in Indianapolis
- By Susan Halas
Miriam Geib in her office.
Miriam Geib has an unusual position in the world of books, she’s a part-time book seller who sells on-line on three of the leading book bases. What makes her different is her salary is paid by the Indianapolis Public Library and the salary of her part-time support staffer is paid by the Indianapolis Library Foundation.
Geib has been associated with the library in that capacity for more than 25 years. Presently she sells a variety of totally separate inventories on ABE, eBay and Amazon. The funds generated by these online activities are significant, “in the six figure range,” and they are used to support library programs.
Sometimes Geib sees a “dynamic tension” between the goals of her position: “We want to make books available inexpensively to the public to promote literacy and as a public service.” At the same time she points out, “We want to get a fair return for the library from the more valuable books.”
Online Selling a Way to Increase Revenue
According to Geib, “There are still many people who love books, the physical book, and many who can’t afford the electronic devices and need the affordable useful books found at a library sale. I hope Libraries continue to hold public sales despite the challenges they pose because it is part of their public service mission.” But, she continues, “It doesn’t mean we (libraries) have to sell a hundred dollar book for a buck.”
“I feel very strongly that we owe it to the donors, who give us books because they love the library, and to the taxpayers, whose money should be used as efficiently and frugally as possible. We do get some grief from customers at the public sales who think they should have everything and complain that “all the good stuff is online.”
“I would encourage librarians and Friends groups to explore online selling as a way of increasing revenue. Sometimes you need a bigger pool to find a buyer for the special or specialist titles. Most of our books are modestly priced. But making $10 online is better than $1 from the general sale. Sometimes a book that hasn’t sold for $10 in my corner will sell for $100 online.”
Suggestions from the Indianapolis Experience
She offers a few suggestions for others who might want to adopt the Indianapolis model:
Describe accurately, price competitively, wrap carefully and ship promptly. It’s important to be attentive to customer service. Be sure to say that your store supports your public library because libraries have many friends in the book buying world.
Use eBay if you want to limit your active attention time; you can run a bunch of auctions at one time and then take a break. Her inventory on eBay she says is mostly sets and similar items. She may have 500 or 600 items listed at any one time.
Amazon is easy for a small seller to use and has the advantage of being the biggest marketplace.
This site carries the disadvantage, however, that there are lots of people who don’t know what they’re doing on the site and some who know only too well and don’t care.
When you’re looking for a price comparison, ignore the mega-listers with their formulaic non-descriptions and look for real bookstores or sellers. They’re the ones with individual item descriptions and near perfect feedback. She lists about 3,200 titles on Amazon. Mostly she says these are books with ISBN numbers that sell in the $10-$20 range.
This is their Amazon store description: “The Indy Library Store is the book sale service of the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation. Online since 2001, we have maintained five star standards by giving personal attention to every transaction. Each book is individually selected, accurately described, and carefully packed. It gives us genuine satisfaction to bring books and readers together. We hope that friends of libraries everywhere will find satisfaction knowing that their purchases help one particular library to strengthen and extend its services."
She also has a separate inventory on ABE of about 1,000 titles.
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Miriam Geib - A Hybrid Bookseller in Indianapolis
- By Susan Halas
“Miriam's Corner,” the book sale area.
Some Big Ticket Sales Too
Though most of her sales are under $50, like all booksellers she still gets excited about the big ticket items.
“One of the first special ones was a lovely first edition copy of Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” It was just in an ordinary box of donations and shelved by a volunteer. I found it when doing a regular review of the shelves before a sale. It would have made some customer’s day to get it for $2, but I’m happy that the Library received the full value instead.”
Recent sales of donated items include a first edition of “Slaughterhouse-Five” (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.) and a six volume set “The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom” (G. E. Cokaye).
She recalls that, “the two highest value books we’ve sold were both library discards.” These were “Examples of Chinese Ornament Selected from Objects in the South Kensington Museum and Other Collections (Owen Jones).”The title makes me laugh but the book itself was a stunning collection of chromolithograph plates.”
The other, “The Wares of the Ming Dynasty" (R. L. Hobson) was sold to a buyer in Beijing, which was fun. I enjoy sending books around the world and chatting with collectors.”
Local Company for Leftovers
Even though Indianapolis prefers to do its own online marketing Geib says, “We use a local company for the leftovers from the public sales. We used to have to clean up and recycle the books that didn’t sell – and there’s always a lot left even after selling it at $5 a bag full.
“Sometime in 2010 we were approached by a man who offered to do all the clean up for us, sell what he could, and share a portion of the profits. We come out ahead just by eliminating the labor costs of clean up and, admittedly - to my surprise, we do get regular checks from him.”
In her view there are several reasons why other libraries have turned to vendors who offer to take all their unwanted books:
“In a large system there’s just so much material to deal with, and the hassle factor is huge with public sales. Librarians don’t have the time or expertise to screen books and organize sales.
“Volunteer groups don’t often have much expertise and the core group dwindles and exhausts itself. It’s just easier to give it all to the professionals and take a percentage than to mess with it.
“I remember a story about the Seattle Public Library in which the librarian said that it was simpler and that they made more money than doing it themselves. And you don’t have to deal with crowds, unpleasant customers, and extra accounting - or the latest wrinkle, the rise of amateur book sellers using scanning devices.”
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Miriam Geib - A Hybrid Bookseller in Indianapolis
- By Susan Halas
Many books are listed for sale on line.
On a pleasanter note, Geib calls “connecting people with books, one of the most rewarding parts of my job." Her real life customers include: “teachers who buy classroom books with their own money; people who buy large print books to donate to nursing homes, and families shopping together. There are customers who plan their visits home to coincide with our book sales, youngsters who are excited about finding their own copy of a favorite book, and my favorites, the ones who tell me ‘I’ve looked for this for years!’”
As a person with a foot in both worlds she has a unique vantage point, from one side she knows first hand how libraries can earn substantial revenues by putting their discards and unwanted books on line. Her experience also suggests there might be a niche for traditional booksellers to interact with library systems in a way that could be beneficial to both sides.
Comments Geib, “I’ve been thinking it might be fun to blog about libraries and book selling; perhaps this article will give me the nudge to start.”
Link for book sale information both public sales dates and on line inventory. www.indyplfoundation.org/news-and-events/library-book-sales
Link for Indianapolis Public Library www.imcpl.org
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Reach bookseller Miriam Geib at: MGeib@imcpl.org
Reach writer Susan Halas at: wailukusue@gmail.com
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