Maybe there could be a basket where "reading material" is kept.  I knew a teacher who actually displayed products for a discount sale once a month.  I always wondered if they were "returns" and she was just trying to make a little extra cash.  The principal never said anything because she was one of his favorites.  

We had insanely annoying 403b-type info people in our staff room thursday. they brought really crappy pizza and then wondered why no one was eating it or going near them. our school is pretty good about the brochures, but i know what you mean about feeling like a trapped audience.

I agree with you.  I think it's tough when people are trying to get by, so I understand why people sell things.  Yet, a teacher's lounge should be a safe haven that is free from commercial influence.

I once angered a guy from McGraw Hill who came to hawk textbooks.  I told him that I thought his company had a monopoly and that their textbooks were bland, biased and boring.  (I was proud of myself for the alliteration) This led to a friendly conversation about the purpose of education.

Minutes into it, he said, "So, you think we should have no textbooks?"  I answered, "Yeah, I guess.  I mean, I would like some novels and such, but nothing that your company provides."  He asked me to prove it, so I told him how I taught.  He asked why I didn't like his company, so I told him they control education, that they are a cancer that should be cut out of the system.  I explained that his company lobbies to help write the standards in each state, the assessment tools, the materials for when students fail to meet the standards and the companies that provide tutoring.  I summed it up with, "So basically, McGraw Hill is getting rich through No Child Left Behind."  

It didn't help that the teachers around me were laughing.  I'm sure he felt like I was ganging up on him.  I actually felt bad when he stormed out of the staff lounge and didn't come back until after our lunch was over.