Dear Members,

Does any of us ever grow out of the feeling from our school days, that September is the start of something?  Even though it's been ahem years since we last matriculated anywhere, every time that hint of crispness comes in the air we get that anticipatory feeling: school supplies! new classes! new locker! new sneakers!  ...before we think Oh yeah, we're old, bummer, September just means new TV shows now.

We weren't thinking about that brand-new, start-of-the-year feeling back in September 2004 when we launched PBS, but it seems really appropriate now.  That's right, PBS has made it out of the toddler years!  When we launched the site 5 years ago, we thought it might just end up being a friends-and-family bookswap, although we hoped it could be much more.  We just had a feeling that there might be a ton of people like us who loved to read and would love to find each other through books -- and we were right. 

There are so many members now.  We have nearly 4 million available books, over half a million unique titles, and over 66 thousand books were mailed in swaps in the last week - over 8000 were mailed just today*.  We love that so many books are finding fresh lives with new readers.  Some copies of books have been swapped a bunch of times!  That's so much better than sitting on a shelf or going to a landfill.  And at the sibling sites SwapaCD and SwapaDVD things are going strong also - members who belong to more than one of the sites can transfer credits between their accounts (there is a link at the top of your My Account page to do this), and turn books into music, movies into books, et cetera. 

We thank everyone who has taken this journey with us - those who have been here from the beginning, those who have just hopped aboard, and everyone who joined along the way.   It's been another great year of reading and sharing, for all of us. 

Happy 5th Birthday, PaperBackSwap!

Richard
and the PaperBackSwap Team

*as of this writing, at ~6:30 PM ET on Sept 1st

NEWS:

Share and Share alike.    <---Those icons are now at the top of every page, under the blue banner.  They allow you to tweet a link, send a link in an email, display a book listing on facebook or myspace...or a ton of other options.  Wanna tell everyone on facebook what you're currently reading?  Click the icon when you're on the Book Details page for that book, choose Facebook, type in a comment if you want, and boom!  it goes onto your facebook page.  Tell people what books you've mailed out, what books you're wishing for...whatever you want to share.

Try it...you'll like it.  Don't forget that if you have never used PBS-DC before, you have 3 free trials of the feature!  The 19-cent USPS e-DC fee still applies (you pay that with extra postage applied to the package) but the 27-cent PBS fee is waived for three separate shipments if you want to try this out.  PBS Delivery Confirmation comes with Quick Credit (and with Guaranteed Credit for accounts with good sending records).  To try this out, choose "Print with Delivery Confirmation alone" (the middle option on the Wrapper Settings page) and your wrapper will print out with a DC barcode.  The offer is good until October 24th. You can read more about PBS-DC here, in the Help Center. Printable Postage is not included in this offer --it's just for PBS-DC.

PBS Store News:  PBS Cookbook final proof has been approved and printing is in process  - Members have been flipping over the BookFlips (get 'em while we still have 'em!) -  and now that cooler weather is on the way, it may be time for a cozy PBS sweatshirt. 

Richard wearing his awesome PBS Sweatshirt.

APO/FPO/DPO members:  For those of you at military/diplomatic addresses, you know that you have had to use the mandatory Requestor Conditions (RCs) on your accounts.  But what about the requests to APO/FPO/DPO addresses that are submitted by stateside members?  We have changed things so that if a request is submitted to be sent to an APO/FPO or DPO address, the Requestor Conditions will be applied automatically.  If you have other text in your Requestor Conditions, that will be included - it will appear above the mandatory PBS text on the request.  You can read the text for the mandatory PBS APO/FPO/DPO RCs at the bottom of the Help doc here. 

Be a card-carrying member... of all three sites!  The Omni Business Card is hot off the presses: it can be customized with your name (you can choose NOT to show your name!), nickname, join date - as you like.  It's a great way to refer new people to all three clubs and get referral credit!  You can download and print these for free from the Spread the Word page.  Check out the PBS business cards, bookmarks and flyers also available for download from that page, under Community at the top of any page on the site.

School Daze

Check out these great books, currently available to request...

	Mystery... The Kalahari Typing School for Men.   The fourth in the delightful No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, this book features Mma Precious Ramotswe, the head of the agency, content.  She's in her mid-thirties ("the finest age to be"), she has a house, two adopted children, a fine fiance. But, as always, there are troubles...  Don't forget the others in the series...
	Contemporary Fiction...Joy School.  In this luminous novel by bestselling writer Elizabeth Berg, the narrator Katie has relocated to Missouri with her distant, occasionally abusive father, and she feels very much alone: her much-loved mother is dead; she's not fitting in at her new school. When she accidentally falls through the ice while skating, she meets Jimmy....   Joy School illuminates how the things that hurt the most can sometimes teach us the lessons that really matter.
	Thriller ...The Charm School.   Something very strange -- and sinister -- is going on in the Russian woods. In a place called Mrs. Ivanova's Charm School, young KGB agents are being taught by American POW's how to be model citizens of the USA, in order to infiltrate the United States undetected.  An unsuspecting American tourist stumbles upon this secret... The Charm School is a chilling story of cold war espionage that is relentlessly suspenseful right up to its white-knuckle ending!
	Horror....Carrie.   Yes, we know you've seen the movie. But have you read the book?   The story of misunderstood high school girl Carrie White, her extraordinary telekinetic powers, and her violent rampage of revenge is the one that started it all for Stephen King. Practically guaranteed to come with a nightmare!  Horror aficionados really should not miss this one.
	Homeschooling...So You're Thinking About Homeschooling: Fifteen Families Show How You Can Do It .  (Well, and why wouldn't you, after reading Carrie?!)  Yes, indeed, that IS Blair from The Facts of Life, presenting 15 homeschooling families as examples of how to make homeschooling a reality for your own family.  A nuts-and-bolts approach, dealing with common questions of time management, teaching weaknesses and outside responsibilities, as well as social and sports involvement, learning disabilities and boredom.

New Local Chapter Leaders:

• Mg N. - reading-voraciously  - Bakersfield, CA
• Kerry S - kalere - Fargo, ND
• Amber L. - Starshine  - HEB (Hurst-Euless-Bedford) area of TX
• Lisa M. - alittlebitoheaven - Tri-Cities area of TN-VA (Bristol-Abingdon-Johnson City)
• Jonathan S. - bigbadjon - Washington County, MD
• Heather H. -Urlachersgirl27 - Broward/Fort Lauderdale area, FL

If you want to be a Local Chapter Leader for PBS, you just need to have a PBS NIckname, a viewable public profile, and some organizational skills...check the Local Chapter Leaders Forum List of Official Chapters to see if your area already has a local Chapter.  If not, and you want to do this, just contact us.  There are no formal guidelines for being a Chapter Leader.  All of the information is in the Local Chapter Leader Discussion Forum topic.    If you are an official Chapter Leader and want us to include your upcoming meetup in the Newsletter, send in a message to us with the date, at least a week before the end of the preceding month.

MEMBER OF THE MONTH

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona)

Elizabeth is a frequent Forum poster and a Tour Guide; we have been getting MoM nominations for her for a long time, even before she became assistant/finishing editor of the PBS Cookbook (anyone who wants more information about the PBS Cookbook can read about it here, and pre-order a copy here).  Some of the comments we got about Elizabeth include:

"She is always there with helpful guidance for both new members and old, and always does it with a (virtual) smile."

"...Her posts are always informative and helpful. She is so polite and friendly in how she responds to posts."

"...for the hard work and countless hours she has volunteered in order to make the PBS Cookbook a reality for all of the PBS members."

"She's a sweetheart,always willing to help...she really brightens up every corner of PBS she visits."

DEAR LIBRARIAN

Dear Librarian-  I was excited to try the free trial of PBS-DC, and I printed out the wrapper with the DC barcode on it, and added postage (remembering to include 19 extra cents for the USPS electronic-DC fee).  So far, so good.  But then I took the book to my PO and they tried to scan it and couldn't!  They told me the number was invalid and they wanted me to buy DC from them for 80 cents!!  I think your free trial thingy is broken. What do I do?? --Flummoxed in Fairview

Dear Moxie, 

We're sorry you had this experience!  The free trial thingy isn't broken, but sometimes things don't go perfectly when you get to the PO.  If they have trouble scanning the barcode this could be because their scanner is not powerful enough (this might be true especially if it is a "pen" style scanner), or because of the way it was printed (if you printed using "scale to fit" in the printer settings, this can space the bars in the barcode out just enough to cause problems with the scan, or if you used colored paper that can cause poor contrast of the black ink of the barcode; or if you put a lot of tape over the barcode, especially if more than one layer or there are wrinkles or bubbles in it, that can inhibit the scan).  But those are really uncommon problems.  

Since your PO used the word "invalid" we think the problem may be that the USPS system has not synchronized to include the barcode yet - the DC barcodes are generated by USPS, and there is a short lag time before all the USPS computers will recognize the barcode that was generated centrally. If you printed the wrapper and took the package to the PO very quickly, it's possible that the barcode generated by the central USPS computer didn't have time to be registered in the system where your local PO could access it.  If this happens:  Don't purchase DC from the PO - this will not earn quick credit and will cost you 80 cents!  Don't let the clerk cover up the printed PBS-DC barcode.  Just send the package as is.  It will probably be scanned en route.  If you check the DC barcode now by entering it on the usps.com site, you will see that it is recognized by USPS and is not invalid. 

We're sorry you had this bump in the road but PBS-DC really works very well!   We hope that you give it another try.

Dear Librarian-- I'm in a quandary.  I really wanted a particular book and I put every version of it on my Wish List.  I was offered the book 4 days ago and I was thrilled!  Yesterday it was marked mailed to me - hallelujah!   But then today I was offered ANOTHER version.  What do I do?  I don't want TWO copies of this book.  But I'm scared the first one won't arrive, and if I pass up the second, I won't get ANY copy of the book.  I AM FREAKING OUT.  --Distressed in Duluth

Dear Luthy,

Ah, yes, the dilemma that can happen to any PBS member who uses the Wish List!  When it rains it pours: you're offered a second version of a book before the first version has come in the mail.   Should you trust that the US Mail will bear version #1 safely to your mailbox, and decline the offer of version #2?  Or should you grab version #2, knowing that if you end up with both you'll have to mark both received?

It's an individual decision.  Remember that less than 1% of packages get "lost" by USPS, so the odds are good that you'll get version #1.  Of course, if you believe in Murphy's Law, then you may think that the ONLY book that will get lost or misdelivered in your account will be this one you want so much, and that will make you accept the second version so you're sure to end up with at least one copy of the book! 

You have to follow your heart here, and consider this: Would it be worse to get NO copies (by declining #2 and having the bad luck of #1 not arriving), and have to go back into line on the Wish List again?  Some members who have a lot to read and aren't very anxious to get a specific book would choose that tactic, and take the small risk of getting no copies of the book.   Or would it be worse in your mind to end up with 2 copies?  Since it's a Wish Listed book you could just repost the extra and send it out - if you really want the book you would go that route.   We can't make that decision for you but we're sure you can choose, based on which "worst case scenario" would be easier for you to bear.  The good news is that this situation, because it requires some coincidences to occur, won't happen too often.

Dear Librarian,

I just discovered PBS and I love it!  I have been keeping a Wish List of books at Amazon.  Is there a way to import that list easily into my Wish List here?  --Exploring the site in Exeter

Dear Dora the Explora:

Welcome to PBS!  We're glad you asked about this.  Yes, there is an easy way to import lists, or single books, from pages outside the PBS site, into your PBS lists.   You can use the PBS Book List Import Bookmark.  This is a bookmark you can add to your browser (Internet or Firefox), and when you are on a site (like your Amazon Wish List or basically any other place you see a book or list of books) you can click the bookmark and like magic you will be allowed to import any ISBNs that are on that page, into the PBS list of your choosing. 

It goes like this:

You: Gee, I would like to put my Amazon Wish List books on my PBS Wish List.  I have downloaded the PBS Book List Import Bookmark and now I go to the Amazon Wish List page and click the bookmark in my browser bookmark toolbar.

PBS: SHAZAM!  Here is a list of all of the books we found on the page you were on.  Check the boxes next to each book to tell us which ones you would like to import, and then choose the list (Bookshelf, TBR, Books I've Read, Wish List, Reminder List) you would like them to go on. 

You (checking all boxes, choosing Wish List, clicking Continue): I would like ALL of them to go onto my Wish List at PBS.

PBS (puts books onto list): Your wish is my command!

You: Wow that is nifty!

Remember that if any of the books is available here it can't be put on your Wish List here; available books can't go onto a Wish List.  They can go on your Reminder List, though - or you can just order them here, and grant some of your own Amazon wishes!

You can read about using the Book List Import Bookmark here in the Help Center - and you can get the bookmark from Member Tools at the bottom of any page on the site.  The bookmark works for Internet Explorer and Firefox, and yes, even if we do say so ourselves, it is very nifty.

COMING SOON:

• The PBS Cookbook...and we're stoked about it!