by Cat Vasko
“Wait, what? You have a bookstore here?” is one of the most common things we hear from patrons visiting our little library here in East Berlin. Run by the Friends of the Trone Memorial Library, a group of volunteers dedicated to supporting our branch through fundraising, advocacy, and promoting library services, our bookstore sells used books for everyone. Titles for children, teens, and adults, ranging from picture books, early readers, and chapter books to fiction and non-fiction books, including memoirs and biographies, are available for purchase at affordable prices. No book is over $2.00, and there are multiple annual book sales to look forward to. Need a last-minute card for a special occasion? Greeting cards are available, too.
All materials sold are items that were donated to the bookstore by community members; most commonly, a result of downsizing personal home libraries, doing annual seasonal cleaning, or cleaning out a loved one’s home. A person may find a book that has a lot of life left in it for new readers to enjoy…though every now and then, we’ll receive items that do not meet bookstore donation guidelines: no magazines, encyclopedias, textbooks, or any books that are damaged… “damaged” being a broad term when it comes to condition checking.
We aren’t just talking torn or dog-eared pages. We’ve seen (and sometimes yes, even smelled) it all. Books covered in dust, mold, and mildew from water damage or sitting in someone’s basement for over a decade; mouse droppings from critters that once called a box of books home; and insects ranging from silverfish and carpet beetles to even spiders. Mysterious food remnants are also frequent flyers. At times, we’ll receive one-off media items, too, such as CDs, audiobooks, DVDs, VHS tapes, and even cassette tapes…though we have yet to see a floppy disc make an appearance.
Similar to our day-to-day library practices, we can’t accept books that come to us with these condition issues. They not only pose risks of damaging books around them, but also pose serious health risks for the staff and volunteers who handle them, and would do the same for any potential new owners.
I have a great appreciation for all book donations we receive, as does my staff and our Friends group. One man’s book collection may not always be a bookstore’s treasure, but an individual wanting to support the library and support another person’s love of reading? That’s the treasure. All proceeds from our bookstore go directly towards the library, and while donating or purchasing a couple of used Danielle Steel or James Patterson books may not seem like much, we recognize and appreciate the simple act of you thinking of the library, wanting to support us, our mission, services, and the surrounding community. It goes a long way.
The Friends of the Trone Memorial Library Bookstore is located on the lower level of the library and open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Interested in getting involved and becoming a member? Email tronefriends@adamslibrary.org.
Cat Vaskois Branch Manager of the Trone Memorial Library, part of the Adams County Library System.