The rising cost of living doesn’t only impact the price of gas, food or housing — the cost of books is also climbing, says the Friends of the St. John’s Public Library.
The group hopes its semi-annual used book sale will make reading a little more affordable.
Hundreds of books are up for sale this Saturday at the A.C. Hunter Public Library in St. John’s. Adult books are $2, and children’s titles are only $1.
Yvonne Earle is a volunteer with Friends of the St. John’s Public Library. She says library budgets haven’t kept pace with the cost of books. So, all proceeds from the book sale support the public library system’s collections, as well as other initiatives, such as purchasing a storage unit for the Michael Donovan Library on Topsail Road.
“[Libraries are] one of the few open public spaces for everybody to use for free,” said Earle. “They’re not getting the funding that’s needed to keep up, let alone to develop, and I think it’s amazing what they’re doing.”
An array of unique titles
The book sale runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and all titles are 50 per cent off starting at 3 p.m.
Earle says attendees must enter through the accessible entrance on the north side of the building facing Prince Philip Drive. The main staircase at the front of the building is out of use and has been closed since September.
The book sale is cash only.
Once inside, people can sort through dozens of boxes filled with books from every genre, as well as items that you can’t find at a chain bookstore.
“We have a whole section of vintage music from the time when movies were silent and you had a physical piano player doing spur of the moment impromptu music to suit the scene,” said Carmen Doucette, another volunteer with Friends of the St. John’s Public Library.
Doucette says one of the best things about a used book sale is that there’s no shortage of unique finds.
For instance, she says, there are four Agatha Christie titles up for sale from the 70s or 80s that are now out of print and have vintage cover art. There’s also a bucket of donated Newfoundland maps.
Doucette says purchasing these items means people are supporting a great cause — the cheap prices and wide array of titles are bonuses.
“It’s wonderful to know you’re making a difference because libraries still are a critical part of our society,” she said. “They fill many, many niches that you may or may not be aware of.”
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