[CALIBK12] Books for Bruce

[ladewig]

An "8 page" book with one picture and one word per page? Obviously this is a
come-on and it surfaces every school year. It's been discussed on CALIB and
LM_NET every year for a bunch of years now. Administrators may think they
are getting a bargain but as Terrie's thorough research shows, it is a
come-on, and perhaps barely above the definition of a "scam." 

Bruce, however, has done his homework - his promotional verbiage sounds too
good to be true (and we all know what that means - it IS too good to be
true!) and not to be bypassed, thus interested administrators looking for a
bargain ("Quantity" and "cheap" must equal "Bargain", right?!). 

What sap wants to pay $16,000 for what are essentially nearly worthless
pamphlets (not "books"!)? Terrie, thanks for sharing this info in detail.

Joanne Ladewig  (A.K.A. "Library Lady")
Library Media Tech
Lawrence Elementary, GGUSD
Garden Grove, California
shatz at verizon.net
 
Comments are my own and may not represent the views of GGUSD
 
-----Original Message-----
From: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu
[mailto:calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu] On Behalf Of Terrie Rosas
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 12:34 PM
To: calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu
Subject: [CALIBK12] Books for Bruce

Have you participated in any of the "scholarship" or "grant" programs
that give away or discount primary level paperbacks by Bruce Larkin?

An administrator asked for my feedback on Books for Bruce, Wilbooks,
and LEF Books after she received an email regarding their All-New
Matching Book Grant Program. The message included the following offer:

"The Literacy Empowerment Foundation (LEF) has increased the size of
the matching grants available to $16,000.00 per school.  A school can
now order $32,000.00 worth of books and pay only $16,000.00." The books
in question are leveled 8-page paperbacks with one picture and one word
per page. 

I submitted search queries to the listserv archives but received no
hits in return. I would appreciate any information you have to share.

After perusing the websites for Wilbooks and LEF Books, I discovered
that all roads lead to Bruce Larkin, as follows:

~ LEF Books, although a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, gives away
books only from Wilbooks.

~ Wilbooks, not identified anywhere on its site as a non-profit,
distributes books only authored by Bruce Larkin.

~ The Books from Bruce program gives away 50 of Wilbooks' thin, 8-page
paperbacks with a retail value of $2.00 each, but there is a $.45 per
book charge "to cover shipping, handling and administrative costs." The
total charge is $22.50 for 50 books, equal to 22.5% of the total retail
value if you purchase the books. 

The pricing structure is copied verbatim from the Wilbooks site in bold
type below:

1-79 Books = $2.00 each.
80+ books = $1.50 each.
On all titles, except for free titles, Shipping & Handling is 10% of
the total.
The Minimum Order amount is $25.00.

So, if you did buy the 50 free books, your actual shipping and handling
charge would be 10% of the total or $10.00. 

Back to the "free" book order. If shipping and handling costs $10.00,
that leaves $12.50 for unspecified "administrative costs" or $.25 per
book, equal to 12.5% of the retail value of each book. Quibbling over a
quarter per book might seem petty, but these are very thin 8-page
paperbacks with one picture and one word per page. 

And this is how I spent my lunch hour. :)

Terrie Rosas
Library/Instructional Materials Technician

Ocean View School District (K-8)
Library/Media Center, Building E
17200 Pinehurst Lane
Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Phone (714) 847-2551 x1104
trosas at ovsd.org
Fax (714) 847-8071
 
"Here is where people,
  One frequently finds,
  Lower their voices
  And raise their minds."
- Richard Armour, "Library"

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