Hundreds of school books rescued from dumpster by Fort Myers bookstore

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—A Fort Myers bookstore rescued hundreds of books from a dumpster after learning they were being thrown out 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 that needed saving. Perkins-Wagel studied to become a librarian, so the news hit close to home.

"I was very mad, I was furious," Perkins-Wagel said.

Photos from Estero High School showed a dumpster filled with books and empty shelves inside the school. WINK News reached out to the Lee County School District for comment.

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by state law for the regular removal of books based on physical condition, alignment to state academic standards and out-of-date content.

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

Perkins-Wagel didn't think losing hundreds of books felt right. She gathered a crew and went to the school to rescue as many books as possible.

"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.

The books filled up the back of her car, and Perkins-Wagel said it was as much as they could grab. There were still many books left in the dumpster.

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

"Anything that you read is valuable, any way that you read is valuable," 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.

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