One of my earliest and still best memories of Durham was my first-ever Friends of the Durham Library book sale. I went to their fall sale shortly after moving to the city a couple of years ago, really just on a lark. It was a nice excuse to get out on a weekend for a few hours, but I certainly never expected to find too much of interest. I mean, we've all been to library book sales, right? Yesterdays never-sellers intermingled with sloughed-off textbooks no one would ever touch again.
Was I ever wrong. I walked away with a bagful of great books, one under each arm -- ranging from the architectural history of Boston, to Garrison Keillor's WLT, to the hard-to-find novel (by all-star music critic David Menconi, of the N&O and No Depression fame) that slyly recounts a fictional version of Jacksonville, NC-native Ryan Adams' rise to local stardom playing the clubs of the Triangle a few years back. And more, all for next to nothing... perhaps $15 at most. I can't even begin to say how many hours of enjoyment I've gotten from these books, for less than the cost of a night out at the movie theater.
So I was saddened to hear that last week's storage shed fire at the downtown library destroyed hundreds of the books that were queued up for this April's sale. One estimate from the non-profit Friends organization is that $8,000 in sales (which support the library's services and holdings) were lost. I can't begin to count the number of bagfuls of books that represents.
The Friends of the Library have made a public plea for donations of books, CDs, DVDs, and audiobooks to help restock the inventory for the book sale; cash donations are also welcomed. Details on how you can help, and details on the book sale (scheduled for the weekend of April 14-15) are available below.
If you can donate, or can contribute, please do. I think I owe the Friends a couple of bags of books myself.
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Here's the full details on the Friends of the Library request and the spring book sale dates:
Small donations can be dropped off at any library facility. Large donations should be brought to the Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St., between 9 a.m. and noon, Monday through Friday, beginning March 12. The Herald-Sun is also accepting and storing donations to assist the Friends; please take donations to the newspaper's offices at 2828 Pickett Rd. between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Donations for the Spring Book Sale will be accepted through April 5.
Friends members receive many benefits, including early shopping at the book sales. To join the Friends, please visit the library's Web site at durhamcountylibrary.org or call 560-0193. Memberships for individuals are $15. Other membership categories: seniors over 65, $10; youth 18 and younger, $5; family, $25; sustaining, $50; and life, $300.Financial contributions can be sent to: Friends of the Durham Library, c/o Development Officer, P.O. Box 3809, Durham, NC 27702.
The Spring Book Sale is open to members only on Friday, April 13, from 4to 7 p.m.; memberships are sold at the door. Everyone is welcome to shop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 14, and 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 15. On Sunday, the Friends also hold a $7 bag sale.
Early responses from the community include free advertising, donation drop off point and storage by The Herald-Sun; loan and free delivery of temporary storage units by SMARTBOX of Raleigh; storage by Greenfire Development; and offers of books from many individuals, organizations and businesses throughout the community. In addition, Rogers-Herr Middle School and the fifth grade at The Duke School are conducting book drives to benefit the Friends.
"If the response continues, we will be able to recover from this loss and have a book sale that will match, or even exceed, our previous sales," said [sale co-chair Carol Ann] Walters. "We will be here every day to ensure that the books people donate reach new readers. And we will take the money that we earn to make Durham County Library an even better resource for everyone in our community."
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