Let’s face it. No matter how badly it’s falling apart, it’s almost impossible to throw away a book. Many of us have books we hang onto just because it seems so wrong to throw them out. Even the responsible move when you put an old book in the recycling bin is difficult. What do you do when a book is just too far gone?

Yes, you can donate used books to the Friends of Reed Memorial Library. The book you don’t want to keep may well be the exact one someone else is hoping to find and you’re supporting the library. Book problem solved, right? Most of the time, yes. Sometimes, though, a book just isn’t saleable any more, even in the used book market.

Our Friends of the Library are faced with this dilemma weekly. They sort through donations and ex-library books each week, and sometimes, a book is just too far gone or too outdated to sell. Our Friends hate getting rid of books just as much as you. As a creative solution, they’ve begun hosting free events to show you how to turn those books from trash into treasure.

Their first hands-on event demonstrated how to chalk paint books for decor. It was wildly successful; they shared recipes for DIY chalk paint, ways to embellish painted books, and everyone left with their own handmade book decor.

On October 5th, the Friends are hosting another hands-on demonstration, Trash to Treasure. You’ll learn how to make book page flowers and a make a book page vase to display them. All the supplies are provided. You just need to show up and bring your bookish enthusiasm. See what you could make?

There are so many ways to reuse a book that’s past salvaging: art, decor, gift packaging; the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Come to the Friends event in October, get more ideas from our Repurposed Books Pinterest board and turn a book that might have been trash into treasure.