<\/p>\n
When staffers at the MSU Surplus Store sift through thousands of pounds of donated books each week, they never know what might surface. First editions, outdated textbooks, signed celebrity memoirs \u2014 even a signed Ted Nugent bowhunting guide \u2014 have made appearances. But last fall, tucked among the stacks of paperbacks and hardcovers in the donation bin, they uncovered something that stopped them in their tracks. <\/p>\n
Immediately clear was the fact that this was an ancient volume. The beat-up pigskin cover was scuffed from centuries of handling. Inside, pages flowing with dense text printed in an archaic font. Kari Schubauer, the store\u2019s books manager, recalled the moment. \u201cWe flip it open, and it\u2019s written by a priest in Latin. You could tell right away it was important.\u201d <\/p>\n
Mystery of the religious tome <\/p>\n
The book turned out to be \u201cTheologia Moralis,\u201d a treatise on moral theology by Austrian Jesuit Paul Laymann (1574\u20131635). Inside, the words \u201cLeodile, Apud Guillielmum Ouwerx, 1672,\u201d indicate that the book was produced in the city of Li\u00e8ge by the printer Guillaume Ouwerx in 1672. This edition was printed 37 years after the author\u2019s death. <\/p>\n
One of the leading Catholic moralists of his day, Laymann taught theology across Bavaria and Austria and produced dozens of influential works. His \u201cTheologia Moralis\u201d became a cornerstone text for Catholic seminaries and was reprinted for over a century. <\/p>\n
How such a book ended up in the MSU Surplus Store\u2019s dusty recycling bin remains a mystery. It bears no library markings, suggesting that it was privately owned. After a student worker connected with experts, MSU\u2019s Special Collections confirmed that very few copies survive worldwide, and this one was in better shape than others known. The team hand-delivered the book to the library, where it now joins MSU\u2019s treasure trove of rare works. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s easily the oldest book I\u2019ve ever handled here,\u201d said Schubauer. \u201cTo think that someone just dropped it in the bin. It\u2019s incredible.\u201d <\/p>\n
Treasure hunting, Spartan-style <\/p>\n
While 17th-century Jesuit texts don\u2019t appear every day, the MSU Surplus Store is full of surprises. On any given afternoon, the shelves hold roughly 5,000 books \u2014 everything from physics texts and automotive manuals to novels, poetry, cookbooks and comics. In recent years, staff have spotted: <\/p>\n
early volumes of \u201cUncle Tom\u2019s Cabin\u201d in its original two-part form; <\/p>\n
a first edition of \u201cCharlie and the Chocolate Factory;\u201d <\/p>\n
the first issue of the \u201cPeanuts\u201d comic series; <\/p>\n
signed works by well-known authors and celebrities. <\/p>\n
And then there are all the other quirky finds throughout the store: a vintage eel-skin briefcase, handmade robots, a horse buggy and Spalding rubber handballs. For \u201csurplustomers,\u201d as surplus customers are known, browsing the store shelves can feel like a treasure hunt. <\/p>\n
Sustainability meets scholarship <\/p>\n
Beyond the thrill of discovery, the book program reflects the store\u2019s larger mission: \u201cto find the highest and best use\u201d for donations. Instead of tossing books into landfills, the store seeks to give them a new life, reselling them at an affordable price to Spartans and locals \u2014 or, in rare cases, forwarding them to MSU Libraries\u2019 Special Collections for preservation. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something wonderful about knowing a student can pick up a physics book here for a dollar,\u201d said Schubauer. \u201cOr that a faculty member\u2019s lifelong collection doesn\u2019t just disappear. It continues to be read, studied and loved.\u201d <\/p>\n
For a deal on books, check out the \u201cBooks by the Pound\u201d sale Sept. 5, when browsers can fill a bag with finds at just $1 per pound. <\/p>\n
A living library <\/p>\n
The leather-bound artifact now rests safely in Special Collections, a survivor of early modern Europe. But its journey \u2014 through centuries of history, then into a donation bin and finally back into scholarly care \u2014 underscores the delightful and important role the surplus store plays. <\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re a student searching for a better deal on a textbook, a faculty member hunting down an out-of-print reference or a nostalgic alum hoping to snag a Spartan memento, MSU\u2019s Surplus Store reminds us that, occasionally, hidden treasures may just appear when \u2014 and where \u2014 you least expect it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When staffers at the MSU Surplus Store sift through thousands of pounds of donated books each week, they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[64,63,457,134],"class_list":["post-103484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-books","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-books","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}