You will have an opportunity to support your local library next weekend during the Scotland County Memorial Library’s semi-annual book sale.
The sale will take place at 9:30 a.m. next Saturday and conclude at 1:30 p.m.
Bargain hunters and rare/collectible books aficionados will both be happy to learn that the library does not spend much time picking through its supply, and almost every book is priced the same ($1 for hard cover and 50-cents for paperbacks).
While some of the books on sale will be decommissioned books already in the library, approximately 70-percent of them will be donated. And while library Director Leon Gyles will welcome any book you may have on the shelf collecting dust, the library is inviting other types of donations as well.
The title “book sale” is actually misleading, said Gyles, because there will be much more than hard covers and paper backs on sale.
“We accept donations of books, DVDs — all kinds of donations, actually.”
According to Gyles, donors have recently, in addition to hundreds of books, given 78-rpm records, Blu-ray discs, DVDs and audio books to the library for the sale.
Giving your spare books and other forms of media can help you around tax time, as well.
Donors interested in deducting their gifts to the library from their taxes receive an official letter from the library stating exactly what they have donated.
All of the revenue from book sales (that is: from the semi-annual sale and from books sold at a permanent “for sale” table in the library) go into the library’s capital improvement fund.
Since Gyles started work at the library in 2009 the money from the fund has been used to purchase the library’s new book mobile and to install its new asset security system, designed to make life difficult for would-be book thieves.
On average, said Gyles, the book sales bring in about $500 each time they are held, and there have been six sales during Gyles’ tenure as director.
The appeal of the sale goes beyond simple dollars and cents for both customers and workers alike, said Margaret Uncapher, assistant to the library director.
“It is exciting when someone comes in and fills their collection with something they’ve been looking for; it makes me happy,” said Uncapher.
For many, said Uncapher, the event is one that Scotland County’s bookworms look forward to.
“Poeple are always coming up to me in (the grocery store) saying ‘Hey library lady, when is the book sale?’”
Concerned about waning interest in reading books among young people, Uncapher noted the relative value of a book as entertainment.
“At the sale you can spend $1 for hours of entertainment, and you can re-read that book again and again. Compare that to how much it costs to spend a few hours at a movie now,” said Uncapher.
To those people who wonder why it would not be easier to turn on the computer and read online, Uncapher has a message: “There’s a hands-on experience you get with a book that you miss when you read on a computer. I would compare it to the difference in looking at a Belk’s advertisement in a magazine versus actually going in the story and touching the items — reading a book is much more of an experience.”
Marilyn McVicker, a former member of the now-defunct Friends of the Library organization, summed up the mutually beneficial nature of the book sale simply.
“It’s a good event because (customers) get something to read and the library gets the money that it needs.”
For those looking to donate their books, the library would like for you to call in advance of your arrival, as it does not accept some books/magazines.
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