a
book is man’s best friend. Inside of a
dog it’s too dark to read.
– Groucho Marx
That being said, get yourself down to the library and round
up some new best friends!! The Friends of the Haltom City Public Library
are gearing up to get the Annual Book Sale set up. The book sale is a decades-old annual event
that the wonderful members of our Friends group put together each Spring.
The
4-1-1
This year, the Book Sale will be gracing our MEETING ROOMS for four
days!
Below are the hours of operation for the SALE:
Thursday, April 26, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Friday, April 27, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 28, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday, April 29, 2 – 4 p.m.
Sunday will be a “box sale”.
This means you can come in, grab a box that we provide for you, fill it
up with wonderful titles, and pay only $5.00 for the entire box!! I LOVE this idea.
Behind
the Scenes
You may not be aware of how much work goes into putting this
sale together each year. I interviewed
Patsy Sullivan, and found out just how large an undertaking this is. The ladies in the Friends group along with a
host of volunteers and the library staff begin preparations for the next year’s
sale the minute the doors close on the current year’s sale. It is estimated that there are about ten
people who work consistently throughout the year to get things ready for the
next year’s sale. Coupled with that there
are anywhere from ten to fifteen volunteers throughout the year along with the
library staff who are continuously preparing materials, and planning the
logistics of the next sale.
As for the abundance of materials available for purchase at
the sale; these items come from our very generous community. The donations of material literally POUR in
all year long. Added to the donated
materials, items that are weeded from the library collection are also put in
the sale for the public to browse and purchase.
True
Friends
When I spoke with Mrs. Sullivan, she explained to me that
the Book Sale first began when the library moved into the building on Friendly
Lane. It has held strong all these
years. She says that the thing that has
changed the most over the years is the growth of donations! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Haltom
City!! Mrs. Sullivan most enjoys
“helping people find books that they are looking for….and NOT looking
for.”
Half
the fun in a library is falling across the unexpected –
Marvin Scilkin
Where
Does It All Go?
The money made from the Book Sale goes to buy things for the
library that are not provided for through our regular budget. This includes things like programming,
equipment that makes the library more user-friendly, and materials that help us
reach patrons who may not otherwise be able to utilize the library. Any books that are left over from the sale
are donated to places like Good Will, the Salvation Army, or sent to places
like the Philippines. 
What
This Means For You
If you are a member of the esteemed Public, this means that you can come down to the library on
one (or all) of the four days that the
sale is going on and pay anywhere from 50 cents to a few dollars apiece for your
favorite titles! In fact, for that
price, you might even get a little adventurous and purchase a couple of titles
you never thought you would read. You
just never know, you might stumble upon a new author you absolutely adore! This sale is also perfect for gift
shopping. It’s never too early to find
great gifts for friends and family J
I hope you will come visit us during the sale, either to
check out books from the library or to stock up on great reading material to
keep from the Book Sale!
