‘It Was the Best of Times’. . .at the Library Fair!

-– by Cara Russell —-

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“’It was the best of times’ . . . and we’ll just leave it at that,” George Post quoted The Tale of Two Cities from under his straw sun hat. At 10 a.m., on Saturday August 9, the hot summer rays were already beating down on browsing book buyers, at the 58th Annual Orcas Island Library Fair, held in the Library parking lot.

Almost 20,000 paper and hardbacks were all sorted and stacked in tidy piles on folding tables. Atop of each mountain, was a white flag with the selections stated by genre. Appearing like literary islands in the ocean -— Western and Sci-Fi over here, New Readers and Gardening over there. Each book was priced between 50 cents to one dollar each. The Library knows that islanders mean business when they show up to the annual sale, so nearby was a wall of empty cardboard boxes just waiting to be filled. One book lover arrived before eight o’clock, more than two hours early, carrying a shopping list of 25 titles he hoped to purchase.

Members of the Library Board of Trustees, as well as Friends of the Library, were all out in their red helper vests, assisting with the busy scene. So, what do the members of the Library Board and ‘Friends’ like to read in their pastime?

• Board member Tom Fiscus loves Sci-Fi and the Foundation Trilogy.
• Library Director Phil Heikkinen enjoys reading Thrillers and Mysteries as a form of relaxation. He also is reading up on sustainable living in the North West.
• ‘Friends’ member Lynn Carter, who has been running the book sale for the last eight years, likes to jump from genre to genre and prefers to check out her books electronically.

The estimate is that over 1,500 people came to the fair, with about $15,000 earned through book sales, and nearly 2/3rds of the 20,000 available items (mostly books) sold.

Also at the event were musical talents, Zumba dancing, food vendors, nonprofits, crafts, the Fire Department, local authors, and more. The public school’s 6th grade class held a bake sale to help fund their big class trip to the Olympic Peninsula, this coming school year. Sixth grade student, Miette Woolworth’s favorite books are The Magic Tree House series. Leslie Seaman, who arranged the music for the event, loves anything by L.M. Montgomery.

Everyone had there had their own way of selecting from the collection. Some choices were made by the reading of a magical first sentence which pulls the reader in from the beginning, and doesn’t let them go until the very last page. It’s that first line that can sometimes inspire a reader to meet a new author. How can you not read on when faced with an opening line like? “The seller of lightning rods arrived just ahead of the storm.” –Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury.

Some people prefer to read the jacket, flip to the very middle, flip to the end, or read the forward or the preface. This reporter’s first test after picking up a mysterious gem, is fanning the pages in front of my nose, and smelling. If it smells musty, I move on.

Every book donated to the Friends for this Library, for sale at the annual fair, comes from the community. It is a running joke that many of these books have recirculated through a few Library Fairs. Perhaps next year, someone might consider creating a way to track some of these ‘repeaters.’

The profits from the Fair will provide funding for future projects of the Library, including the planned expansion. While rushing to set up the ice cream sundae table for a growing line of hot and hungry kids, Heikkinen expressed his happiness with the fair and the current state of the expansion project.

“It has resonated with the community, and that the initial response has been very positive,” said Heikkinen.

If you missed out on the Library Fair this last weekend, don’t worry -— some of the books will probably be back next year. And if you would like to know more about the projected Library expansion project, call, email, or just stop by.