Annual Book Sale Draws A Crowd

By Eliza Hallabeck

What draws roughly 400 people out of their bed by 9:15 am on a Saturday in Newtown? An estimated 120,000 books, as Friends of the C.H. Booth Library found out as the doors opened for the 34th Annual Book Sale this past Saturday, July 11. By 10 am, more than 500 booklovers were browsing the selections.

President of the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library Mary Maki said on Saturday morning there were roughly 75 volunteers working to contribute to this year’s book sale.

“You never know what is going to come in,” said Pete Stern, a Friend of the C.H. Booth Library, “and this year we have a tremendous amount of history.”

For book collectors, volunteers pushed carts through Reed Intermediate’s cafetorium and gymnasium to help transfer an individual’s collection of books.

Ms Maki said most of the books in the book sale sell during the first day of the event. “There’ll be a steady stream all day,” she said.

Ms Maki said she was “just so pleased people came.” She thanked Boy Scout Troop 70 for its help in selling food in a tent near the entrance to the sale.

“We love the library,” she said. “That’s why we’re here.”

The sale was open from Saturday through Wednesday, with extended hours on Monday and Tuesday.

By Wednesday, the last day of the sale, tables were still standing, and a good number of people were still looking through the piles to find their selections. Compared to the start of the book sale, Wednesday’s remaining piles were greatly diminished.

Mr Stern said by the end of the day on Wednesday, at 1 pm, the doors would be closed, books moved and tables collected and removed.

Items lost and left at the book sale will be collected and kept at the C.H. Booth Library on Main Street for about one month.