[PLUG-TALK] Internet Archive Digital Library donation

[Keith Lofstrom]

I will soon ship about 25% of my personal library to the 
Internet Archive's Digital Library.  They sent strong boxes
and box tape and instructions.  More packing material than
I thought was needed, but it turned out to be Just Enough.
This ain't their first rodeo, cowboy!

Two hours ago, after weeks of sporadic work, I finished
barcode-scanning and filling the 45th and last box of
books.  I estimate 1700 books, and the filled boxes weigh
1080 pounds. 

The empty boxes weigh about 1.4 pounds.  The Archive wants
the full boxes to weigh less than 40 pounds, and hardbacks
are dense and heavy, so I filled most of the boxes to 25
pounds and the remaining empty space with packing bubbles
and padded envelopes that accumulated from 20 months of
online shopping during COVID.  

A barcode scanner came in handy for the books that had
them.  I set up a LibreOffice spreadsheet to log those
books.  I had to watch the screen for mis-scans, and often
needed to rescan and reformat the cells, so a tethered USB
scanner was adequate.

The Archive also accepts VHS tapes and LP records. 
I expect to fill another 15 boxes with those, after
I get further instructions.

In a few months, you will be able to eBorrow "my" books
and videos and LPs from the Digital Library.  The more
duplicates they have in storage, the more copies they
can loan out.  Including to me, in the unlikely event
that I want to read one of "my" books again.  

I will palletize the boxes Real Soon Now, but it may be
wise to delay shipping until COVID Delta burns through
the antivaxxers in southern Oregon.  I don't want to put
a truckdriver at unnecessary risk, or delay more urgent
shipments through that hot zone.

-----

You should downsize as well.  I can connect you with the
Internet Archive's donations staff.

Keith

P.S. Note to potential book thieves reading this in a
public archive - yes, I still have about 3000 pounds of
books.  They are useful for my research, but none are
collector's items, and most are useless to anyone else.  
If you covet odd books about linux or asteroid orbits or
lipid biochemistry or analog circuits, you can earn more
working for me than you can earn selling stolen books.

P.P.S. I haven't learned the pallet size that Internet
Archive plans to send (I presume a 40x48 GMA ), but there
are plenty of surplus pallets nearby, and I'd like to save
them that expense.  If you have excess clean and sturdy
pallets, or poly strap and a tensioner, let me know.

-- 
Keith Lofstrom          keithl at keithl.com