By Emily Willis and Jessica Isaacs
Photos by Ken Ketchie
The Friends of the Watauga County Public Library are holding their Holiday Book Sale beginning on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 3 p.m. The folks who sort donated books have been saving especially good books for this year’s sale since the end of last year’s Holiday Sale. Be sure to stop by the library and check out this year’s large selection of books and gift book baskets!
The Friends non-profit organization was formed in 1974 in order to engage the public in the use and support of the library, as well as to provide funds in those areas not supported by government funding.
“The main thing we do is support the library with money, because the state seems to have a problem with cutting it down every year, so we’re able to give the extras,” said Joan Hearn, FOL board member for publicity and volunteer coordination. “We support a lot of the activities at the library and we raise mos of our money through donations and our two big book sales.”
The book sales help the FOL support programs like Reading and Rolling, which uses volunteers to deliver books to children’s homes over the summer and picks them up every two weeks to exchange them for new reads.
“Teachers love it because it keeps the reading skills up and it gets children reading,” said Hearn. “The best part is that, at the end of the summer, we take the money that is allotted by the Friends and buy books for the school libraries with the children’s names inside so it shows they have donated that book by reading.”
The FOL group also sponsors book clubs, adult reading programs, media equipment, community resources (like volunteer income tax assistance) and visiting authors.
“Friends of the Library is an all volunteer membership and you can be a member for just $5. Where else can you go for $5 and belong to one of the best groups in the county?” said Hearn. “We also have children’s memberships through age 16 for $2 and families for $10. If you’d like to give us a lot more, we’ll take it.”
Many of the activities that are supported by the Friends are designed to introduce people to the library. The events engage different groups of people including families, children, senior citizens, or the business community.
The FOL also hosts a continuous in-house book sale at the library, offering great books at low prices that have been donated by folks in the community.
Holiday Book Sale 2016:
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Thursday, Nov. 3rd, 3-7 p.m.
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Friday, Nov. 4th, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
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Saturday, Nov. 5th, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Prices of books:
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Most hardcovers – $2, unless marked
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New Releases – $5
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Coffee Table Books – priced as marked
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Paperbacks – .50 cents, unless marked
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Movies, music, videos – $1
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Children’s hardbacks – .50 cents
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Children’s paperbacks – .25 cents
The price of the gift book baskets range from $5-$15. The baskets will contain popular books and other goodies, all attractively packaged. These tend to sell quickly so be sure to come early to get your first choice! The sale will be held at the Watauga County Public Library in the Meeting Room. The address is 140 Queen Street in Boone.
To learn more about the Friends organization, check out their website!
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