Community Corner

'Book Heaven': Pequot Library's Book Sale Starts Friday

Shelley Hall sorts through boxes and boxes of children's books, all potential inventory for the upcoming Pequot Library Book Sale.

"It's book heaven," she said. "It's so exciting to separate and sort and pick out these books."

Hall and fellow volunteer Roberta Gagne were in the midst of pulling out children's book "specials," or those books that are so new or like-new they can be given as gifts.

The book sale, which kicks off Friday, will feature over 140,000 books, CDs, DVDs, records, videos, and more items spanning over 40 categories. It's the 53rd year for the Pequot Library's biggest annual fundraiser.

"We work 365 days a year to put on this five-day book sale," Adair Heitman , the library's director of communications, said.

After this year's budget scare -- when members of the RTM put the town's $350,000 contribution on the chopping block -- the fundraiser is all the more important to Pequot's success. The library raises two-thirds of its budget each year.

But the book sale is quite popular.
If last year is any indication -- when droves of book buyers turned out in pouring rain -- the turnout should be impressive this year.

Thanks to longtime community support, Pequot boasts an extensive selection of books and special collections. Among items for sale will be rare and celebrity-signed books.

Shoppers can find books signed by Maurice Sendak, George Bush, Jimmy Carter, John Knowles, and Eddie Rickenbacker.

An 1862 reprint of the "Bay Psalms Book," one of the most valuable books in the world, will also be available for phrase, as well as two rare books assigned by Jean-Paul Sartre.

Approximately 100 volunteers will be on hand to help shoppers browse and purchase.

"It's what we work for all year," Gagne said as she continued to sort children's books.

The sale runs Friday, July 26 through Tuesday, July 30. Friday's hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (items are doubled the marked price); Saturday and Sunday's hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (priced as marked); Monday's hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (items are half the marked price); and Tuesday's hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. ($5 per bag day).


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