Free Books (at a price...)

Some of the most interesting publications I've ever found come from years of dropping by the local library's book sales. It's the source for much of what I've posted to date, and there's so much more to try getting to (some day...)

The sale itself has been one of the best things about living in this town. Held Saturdays and Sundays much of the year, it's presented more opportunities to browse than I've had time or energy to invest. Even if I've usually gone just three or four times a year, it's been all too easy to accumulate more interesting stuff than I have shelf space. But the pickings have been just that enticing: some library withdrawals, but mostly donated items covering a never predictable range of subjects.

The sale is a popular event that gets everything free and is run by volunteer labor; for years this has raised extra money for the library. Well, that all would seem to have been too good—once the library director and members of the Board decided this was not something they wanted on the premises. That's according to varied local scuttlebutt; I assume it would be sheer snobbishness on the part of Board members, and a careerist move by the director. Since the latter came to town, nearly all neighborhood libraries have been replaced by cavernous new buildings with a maximum of screens and minimum of books. Then voters defeated a 2012 bond issue to replace the downtown library with a mega-version of the new branch buildings. Had the proposal passed, it would have given the director her biggest capital project yet; presumably, she needs to add this to her resumé before moving on to greener fields.

It takes more than losing an election to discourage the upper echelon, so there have been various maneuvers since 2012. Most important is the current Plan B: a remodel of the lower floor (where sales had been held) into activity space for children and teenagers. If it might be a worthwhile use of space, its focus won't be on books or literacy, but on entertainment—and free babysitting. Certainly the PR around youth programs shows this is meant to sell parents on approving the library bond, next time around. And as more newcomers with kids move to the area—the revised pitch will no doubt work.

Meanwhile, a new book shop space opened late last year: in a small space that had been the Young Adult section. Book cases have been jammed so tightly that it's awkward for two people to be in some aisles at the same time. I've found that trying to read spines is so much of a strain on the eyes and neck that it's hardly worth bothering. Worst of all, there's no space given to my old favorites: odd pamphlets and interesting ephemera.

The rest of the plan is a phase-out of the larger sales. The building's lower level was opened in December for a pre-Christmas sale, and a quarterly "Special Sale" will be held through 2015. After that, weekly sales will be limited to the claustrophobic new shop. That's unless the new shop was opened for its value as a hostage; I predict a future bait and switch promise of added sale space—if we build the director and the Board that new building.

The library still receives the usual volume of donations, and several carts crammed with giveaways are in the lobby daily. Over the last couple of years there have been times when unsold books were left for the taking, and I've appreciated the interesting finds. (Childcraft is among the things I got then.) But that was weekly sale overflow; the current free carts play a part in ending sales altogether.

It's a shame, but part of the same old post-'80s mentality: executives in public services and non-profits follow the lead of the corporate big boys, undermining their institutions until they are rewarded by better-paying gigs, undermining other institutions...

For this year, I'll post some recent items from the giveaway carts. There have been finds I've taken away for closer inspection, but most of what's on the cart is easy to leave for someone else.

Although... it was hard to pass up Fun!—

Someone eventually went for this one—

—autographed by the author, after the Chocolate Extravaganza—

Of the takeaways—sure, it's nice that they've been free. But I don't like the price: losing a local institution that—with the peculiar forms local gentrification is taking—was one of the last good things left.