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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>CVs!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In case you missed this! </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jay,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Maybe you can condition the sale on the new owner
continuing the low rent for 6 months or so!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Brad</FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=william.schlegel@us.army.mil
href="mailto:william.schlegel@us.army.mil">william.schlegel@us.army.mil</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=william.schlegel@us.army.mil
href="mailto:william.schlegel@us.army.mil">william.schlegel@us.army.mil</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, August 19, 2004 11:15 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Free give-and-take of books is his Thing</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>This story was sent to you by: <A
href="mailto:william.schlegel@us.army.mil">william.schlegel@us.army.mil</A><BR><BR>--------------------<BR>Free
give-and-take of books is his Thing<BR>--------------------<BR><BR>The future is
uncertain for popular exchange shop in Charles Village<BR><BR>By Allison
Klein<BR>Sun Staff<BR><BR>August 16, 2004<BR>For four years now, the ample man
who sports a dark bushy beard and baggy blue jeans has given away thousands of
books each week to anyone who is willing to come and get them.<BR><BR>Russell
Wattenberg rents a basement in a Charles Village rowhouse, calls it The Book
Thing, and encourages people to drop off and take as many as they can carry. In
return, he asks for a smile, and that the books not be resold.<BR><BR>But the
growing popularity of The Book Thing gives the 950-square-foot basement more of
the feeling of a crowded subway than a book giveaway.<BR><BR>Tens of thousands
of books are piled high from the floor to nearly the ceiling, and passing by
someone almost demands an "excuse me."<BR><BR>"I happen to love what I'm doing,"
Wattenberg said yesterday as he inspected a fresh load of books dropped down in
front of him. "But we're outgrowing the space."<BR><BR>He's looking for new
digs, which isn't easy when you're a one-man nonprofit and the product you're
peddling is free.<BR><BR>Adding a bit of immediacy to the search for a new space
is that the building out of which The Book Thing operates is about to be sold,
and the prospective buyer hasn't committed to charging Wattenberg the $235
monthly rent he's accustomed to.<BR><BR>"The pressure's on now," said
Wattenberg, who says most of his wardrobe consists of T-shirts that say "The
Book Thing."<BR><BR>The current owner of the building, a pair of three-story
brick rowhouses, says Wattenberg is "a wonderful tenant and does a wonderful
service for the neighborhood." But Jay Gouline says he has larger real estate
projects he wants to tackle so he's selling the property in the 2600 block of N.
Charles St.<BR><BR>"The Book Thing is a beautiful thing to watch," Gouline
says.<BR><BR>Wattenberg is looking for a place that has amenities his current
location does not: heat, air conditioning, parking spaces, a bathroom and
accessibility for the handicapped.<BR><BR>He gets his funding from individuals
and private companies, as well as the rare sale of a valuable item. He said he
once sold etchings to Sotheby's and other auction houses for
$35,000.<BR><BR>Wattenberg draws a salary of $18,000 a year, and says he
occasionally has to lay himself off for a week at a time.<BR><BR>"That's always
an interesting conversation I have with myself," he says.<BR><BR>Wherever
Wattenberg ends up, his 25 loyal volunteers and hundreds of customers are very
likely to follow.<BR><BR>Dozens of book seekers milled around the basement
yesterday, many piling volumes into cardboard boxes.<BR><BR>Santos Lekgothoane
was sitting in a corner, listening to Jamaican music through headphones and
thumbing though a book on African languages.<BR><BR>Lekgothoane comes by the
store frequently to get books to ship back to South Africa, his homeland. He
sends them fourth-class mail, which is inexpensive, but takes several
months.<BR><BR>"I send them to my people so they have books," said Lekgothoane,
45, who lives in Druid Hill. "There is such a shortage."<BR><BR>A woman brushes
by him on her way out of the store with her young daughter.<BR><BR>Wattenberg
looks at the girl, who is about 10, and eyes the several books tucked under her
right arm.<BR><BR>"I expect a book report next week," he calls after
her.<BR><BR><BR><BR>Copyright (c) 2004, The Baltimore Sun<BR><BR>Link to the
article:<BR><A
href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.books16aug16,1,7602213.story">http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.books16aug16,1,7602213.story</A><BR><BR>Visit
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