BOOK-SWAPPING FEVER IS GOOD NEWS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Donna Werbner | 06.01.2006 00:32 | Technology
An online book swap scheme, set up by two friends in their spare time, has recycled more than £10,000 worth of books.
An online book swap scheme, set up by two friends in their spare time, has recycled more than £10,000 worth of books.
The site, ReadItSwapIt (
http://www.readitswapit.co.uk), allows book lovers to swap books over the internet – free of charge.
More than 6,500 books have been registered since Neil Ferguson and Andrew Bathgate, 26, set up the site a few months ago.
Already, over £10,000 worth of books have been stolen from bookshops’ coffers and swapped on the site.
There’s currently another 4,100 books worth around £30,000 up for grabs online.
Traffic to the site peaked over the festive period, with receivers of unwanted Xmas book gifts swapping like crazy.
Since Christmas Day 2005, more than 500 users have joined the site and registered nearly 2,000 books.
Over 400 books have been swapped in the last week alone.
The idea for the site came when Andrew got fed up with books he had already read gathering dust and filling up his bookshelves.
He complained about how much he was spending on books to his friend Neil, a computer programmer, and said that he would love to be able to swap books with other readers.
The site is totally free to use. All users need are books they no longer want. When they see a book they want, they offer to swap any of their books with that user and exchange addresses. Hey presto! A new book arrives in the post.
“We wanted to create a site that would enable people to gain access to hundreds of books, without having to spend any money,” said 26 year-old ReadItSwapIt co-founder Neil Ferguson.
Users need never spend another penny on new books ever again, cutting out trips to the bookshop forever.
Environmental charities like Friends of the Earth and Leep Recycling have praised the book recycling element of ReadItSwapIt to their members while Scottish Waste Awareness Group and the National Literacy Trust are currently directing book lovers to ReadItSwapIt via their websites.
Librarians across the country are supporting the site and libraries in London, Bury St Edmonds and Northern Ireland are promoting the site to their members.
For further information please contact:
ReadItSwapIt co-founder Andrew Bathgate
Tel: 0794 136 4248
Email:
pressoffice@readitswapit.co.uk
The site, ReadItSwapIt (
http://www.readitswapit.co.uk), allows book lovers to swap books over the internet – free of charge. More than 6,500 books have been registered since Neil Ferguson and Andrew Bathgate, 26, set up the site a few months ago.
Already, over £10,000 worth of books have been stolen from bookshops’ coffers and swapped on the site.
There’s currently another 4,100 books worth around £30,000 up for grabs online.
Traffic to the site peaked over the festive period, with receivers of unwanted Xmas book gifts swapping like crazy.
Since Christmas Day 2005, more than 500 users have joined the site and registered nearly 2,000 books.
Over 400 books have been swapped in the last week alone.
The idea for the site came when Andrew got fed up with books he had already read gathering dust and filling up his bookshelves.
He complained about how much he was spending on books to his friend Neil, a computer programmer, and said that he would love to be able to swap books with other readers.
The site is totally free to use. All users need are books they no longer want. When they see a book they want, they offer to swap any of their books with that user and exchange addresses. Hey presto! A new book arrives in the post.
“We wanted to create a site that would enable people to gain access to hundreds of books, without having to spend any money,” said 26 year-old ReadItSwapIt co-founder Neil Ferguson.
Users need never spend another penny on new books ever again, cutting out trips to the bookshop forever.
Environmental charities like Friends of the Earth and Leep Recycling have praised the book recycling element of ReadItSwapIt to their members while Scottish Waste Awareness Group and the National Literacy Trust are currently directing book lovers to ReadItSwapIt via their websites.
Librarians across the country are supporting the site and libraries in London, Bury St Edmonds and Northern Ireland are promoting the site to their members.
For further information please contact:
ReadItSwapIt co-founder Andrew Bathgate
Tel: 0794 136 4248
Email:
pressoffice@readitswapit.co.uk
Donna Werbner
e-mail:
pressoffice@readitswapit.co.uk
Homepage:
http://www.readitswapit.co.uk
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