[OPLINTECH] Recycling/Reselling Old Equipment

[Mann, James H.]

Matt
Our policy is pretty simple and we focus on 4 or 5 year old units. I also periodically make a junk run with things like HP printer power bricks and other stuff that never seems to make it to the donation bin.
First priority is local United Way Agencies. We have about 10 agencies that are on our cycle and they generally get upgrades. Don't care what they do with their surplus.
Second priority is Goodwill/Easter Seals which runs a recycling program for special ed classrooms. They prefer matching units and like several at a time.
Third priority is a local recycler who has contracts with Goodwill agencies. He will take anything, uses local MRDD students as recyclers and doesn't ship to China.

No individual consumers and no public sales. I have found over the years that selling to a patron somehow seems to imply support.
We do create a freeware image and send out the computers clean and reformatted.  I did some circa 2000 computers with Ubuntu and they were well received.

Every once in awhile I'll see a computer on Craig's that I'll swear was one of mine but times are tough even for people getting free computers from local agencies.

I can give you my contacts if you want. But you'll have to deliver/ship unless the donation is large enough to warrant renting a truck.
________________________________________
From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org [oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] On Behalf Of Matt Hoffman [mhoffman at heightslibrary.org]
Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 3:43 PM
To: OPLINTECH at oplin.org
Subject: [OPLINTECH] Recycling/Reselling Old Equipment

Hello!

I’d like feedback from the OPLINTech list members on how their libraries handle old, but still usable equipment.  For example, we have a number of older PCs that might still work as a home Pc for someone who just wants to go online, but aren’t much good for anything else anymore.  What would you be doing with these PCs?

Thanks for any insight!

        Matthew Hoffman, Network Administrator
Cleveland Heights - University Heights Public Library
   (voice) 216-932-3600 ext. 284 (fax) 216-932-0932
mhoffman at heightslibrary.org www.heightslibrary.org