Library Director Heather Bonney is looking forward to having adults and children browse through thousands of titles at the J.C. Holliday Library and taking some home, for a low price.
The kickoff for the semi-annual book fair is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at the library, 217 Graham St. After Saturday, the sale will continue through Monday, Oct. 12, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and every day through Friday, Oct. 16.
“It’s been shown that if a child has a library of at least 50 books, just that one factor has a greater influence on whether they get into college or graduate from college,” Bonney said about the importance of young people reading. “You can pick up a children’s book for 50 cents or a dollar here and add it to your kid’s collection.”
In addition, Bonney said it’s a great way for teachers to get books for their classrooms as well.
“It’s very cheap and it’s an easy way for the community to help us to get new books to stay current and to put more online resources out there,” she said.
Hardback books and DVDs will be $1 and paperback, audio titles and videos will be sold for 50 cents. The sale will coincide with the Court Square Street Fair, which is the largest annual event in downtown Clinton. Some of the features include a barbecue cook-off, a 5K run, car show and breast cancer awareness rally.
The Sampson-Clinton Public Library is always adding new things for patrons, but everything collected can’t be stored. To make room at the Clinton, Garland, Newton Grove and Roseboro locations, old materials and books with outdated information or less popularity are taken off the shelves by library officials.
As an example, library officials mentioned authors Sidney Sheldon and James Michener, whose work was popular in the 1980s. But the demand for their books decreased over the years.
“Since we’re not the Library of Congress, we have to get rid of stuff,” Bonney said.
Videocassettes will be available to purchase as well, since the technology is becoming more outdated.
“We’re getting out of the video circulation,” Bonney said. “People’s VCRs are breaking down and they’re not repairing them.”
The same will apply to cassette tapes, which comes along with many audio books.
For the upcoming event, Bonney said more children’s books will be available for the public to purchase. The next book sale in the spring will include mostly books for adult readers.
The money collected will go back into the library’s budget to purchase new books or equipment. Leftover items will be donated to local schools and shelters. Usually, the library collects anywhere between $1,500 and $2,500 in one week.
“As long as we do that each time, we usually come out good,” she said.
Last year, some of the funds were used to expand computer access at libraries in Sampson County. While planning for the budget, the library estimates how much they will make from the book sales to purchase new ones for patrons to checkout.
One of the popular authors mentioned by Bonney is Nicholas Sparks, writer of “The Best of Me,” and “The Longest Ride,” which was turned into a film. When an adaptation is at the box office, the demand for the book increases.
Usually, the library purchases 6,000 to 8,000 items per year and tries to keep up with requests.
For more information, contact the J.C. Holliday Library at 910-592-4153.