Hundreds of school books pulled from recycling by Fort Myers bookstore

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—A Fort Myers bookstore collected hundreds of books from after learning they were being recycled by the Lee County School District.

Lucy Perkins-Wagel, owner of the Blinking Owl Bookstore in Fort Myers, received a call from a customer about a dumpster full of books at Estero High School. Perkins-Wagel, who studied to become a librarian, said she was furious.

"The whole point of going to school is to learn about things, and the best way to learn about things is from books," Perkins-Wagel said. "It was just really disheartening that our school board was doing that."

India Palencia and Debbie Jordan, who are both running for the school board, said they reached out to the district to learn more. 

A district spokesman said the school system is following the process outlined by state law for the regular removal of books based on physical condition, alignment to state academic standards and out-of-date content.

"We let students take books they want, donate what we can, and recycle the rest," the district said. "It is a standard annual process."

The Lee County Young Democrats shared photos from Estero High School that appears to show a dumpster filled with books and empty shelves inside the school. 

Rob Spicker, communications director for the Lee County School District, said the floors are being replaced at Estero High School. That is why the bookshelves are empty. 

The Young Democrats shared similar photos from East Lee County High School. Spicker said the school is remodeling it's media room so it can become a collaborative space for students to work together.

"All our new high schools are built this way," Spicker said. "We don’t build libraries in them because students don’t check out books. Remember, they have access to a full digital library."

But Perkins-Wagel didn't want to see the physical books disappear. She gathered a crew and contacted someone at Estero High School who let them on the property after students left. Perkins-Wagel said she grabbed as many books as possible and put them in the trunk of her hatchback. 

Now, she plans to hand out the books to nonprofits, free little libraries and anyone who walks through the door of her bookstore. 

Perkins-Wagel said people from around Southwest Florida have already reached out asking about the books.

Anyone interested can visit the Blinking Owl Bookstore on Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers or call the shop, which is handing out the books for free. 

"Hopefully they will not be books without a home for very long," Perkins-Wagel said.