I can't count the number of people who flip out over the fact that we have to throw books away at the used bookstore where I work.

I mean, I get it. Totally. I was one of those people too, back before two decades of work at either libraries or bookstores helped me to understand what a massively important undertaking it is to curate a collection. Gardeners have to prune their bushes and trees from time to time. Librarians and book sellers are no different.

Popular genre stuff gets pulled the fastest. Once we have 3-5 copies of Patterson's latest work, there's no need to keep more on hand. Ideally, one copy of everything an author has ever written keeps the shelves stocked, because you never know when someone will pick up the latest Grisham thriller and decide they want to read everything else, starting with A Time To Kill.

That doesn't mean we need 7 copies of The Firm taking up space on the shelves. :)