Hundreds of school books rescued from trash by Fort Myers bookstore

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—A Fort Myers bookstore rescued hundreds of books from 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 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."

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by state law for the regular removal of books based on physical condition, alignment to state academic standards and out-of-date content.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

But Perkins-Wagel said she is skeptical. 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. 

Other photos appear to show containers filled with books at East Lee County High School in Lehigh Acres. One photo shows books stacked in the corner of a cleared out room. 

"That is not curated, that is not culling through a collection," Perkins-Wagel said. "That is completely getting rid of the whole thing."

Perkins-Wagel took action. 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.