Category Owner News — January 10, 2023

Greetings Category Owners,

The Storm: First of all, this is hoping that you remained safe and dry through the storm. If we can help in any way, please reach out. The warehouse stayed dry and secure. Container #3 got some water blown in under the door, wetting the bottom of some yet to be fine sorted boxes. The boxes were repacked and the wet books were gotten rid off. Given that you had not seen those books yet, you won’t miss them.

At the warehouse reminders—

Masking: We are still under PP guidelines to mask at the warehouse. We are told that we will probably all catch the newest variant, but there is no reason we should help it spread at the warehouse. As before, if you are working alone in an enclosed space, you can unmask.

Packing boxes: Check that as you pack boxes for EW, you are putting them in the correct alphabetical zone area in the warehouse. These changed this year, so check the maps along the sides of the aisles for where your boxes get put. Schleppers have had to move some and they don’t need more work.

Protecting books for Amazon: As we know already, we have been asked not not to use tape for affixing green slips to books. Using rubber bands also damages books and should not be used. If you have a book that you cannot securely slip a green slip into the copyright information page, put the book in a plastic bag along with the green tag. Where are the plastic bags? Picture this—Think about where you would get a laptop and a scanner. Plastic bags are in a box on the floor below where the computers are stored.

Office reorganization: If you haven’t been in the office recently, stop by to admire our new mailbox.

It is a place to leave messages for the chairs, Alan, Bruce, Amazon and Teri and Maureen, the rough sort managers, and the history project. It also is the new place to find any of the slips that we use in books, like signed by author, banned book, etc. You can also find these slips on the book shelves by the rough sort table.

Thank you Robert for a nice looking, completely functional, addition to the office!

Things in process-

New Category Owner support: We are now creating both a new CO training and an “information reference sheet” for new COs. We are asking long time COs to share their tips and tricks with us. And we are asking for new COs to let us know the questions you need answered. If there is anything you think would be helpful to be included in the training or reference sheet, please let us know by replying to this email.

Dealer Sale in March or April: If we have a mid-year Dealer Sale, please let us know by replying to this email if you would not participate.

Book sale ephemera: We have a group of our volunteers working on the history of the book sale since its inception in 1974, with the idea that we will have a published product for purchase at the 50th annual sale in 2024. If you have photos or other ephemera from past book sales or from work before the sale, at EW or in the warehouses, Thornwood or Gutierrez, we would love to make digital copies of them. Please put your offerings in the aforementioned history project mailbox in the office. Include your name so that we can return them to you.

Thanks for everything you do, for everything you are! Stay safe and dry!

Fran, Christina, Eliot