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Vol. LXIV, No. 41
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Wednesday, October 13, 2010
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Vol. LXIV, No. 41
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Wednesday, October 13, 2010
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“This will be the biggest sale we’ve ever had,” writes Stuart Mitchner, director of the annual Friends of the Princeton Public Library Fall Book Sale. “It will also be the largest sale geographically since we’re expanding to Hinds Plaza, thanks to the initiative of Book Sale co-chairs Sherri Garber and Eve Niedergang and the abundance of quality donations we’ve received in the past months. On top of that, we’re celebrating the library’s centennial and mourning the loss of the library’s mainstay, Building Manager Chris Ducko, whose untimely death this Sunday had staffers who had heard the news smiling through their tears as they took part in the festivities. Such a great occasion, such a terrible, deeply emotional loss. Chris was a big man in the prime of life, one of the library’s true heroes, the embodiment of the new building and all its glowing promise.
“The farewell book sale at the old library took place the week after September 11, 2001, when everyone was still in shock, and it was a tremendously busy, sadly festive occasion, and a great success. Whether they were browsing or buying or volunteering, people needed an outlet, a distraction, an excuse to be taking part in a large community event. It was a way of saying ‘We’re all together, life goes on.’ So it is for this year’s sale and those of us who knew, loved, liked, or simply admired Chris Ducko.”
Among the Donors
Among the centennial sale’s big donors, along with former Senator Bill Bradley, the Lewis Center for the Arts, and publishing executive Edward M. Crane Jr., are the estates of Susan Merians, Nancy McMorris, and Ann Waldron.
A former board member of the Princeton University Art Museum, Susan Merians has donated her extensive collection of art and cook books. Nancy McMorris, who had a lifetime interest in European languages, art and culture and specialized in furniture valuation at Sotheby Parke-Bernet, has provided volumes on furniture, literature, and history as well as books from her family’s collection, some dating from the mid-1880’s. Best known locally for the series of Princeton murder mysteries she wrote late in life, Ann Waldron is the author of a biography of Eudora Welty, six novels for children, as well as nonfiction books for young adults about the artists Goya and Monet, and accounts of famous art forgeries. Her book, Hodding Carter: The Reconstruction of a Racist, was named a Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times in 1993.
Dates and Times
The booksale weekend begins with a Preview Sale, free to members of the Friends ($10 for non-members) on Friday, October 22, from 10 a.m. to noon. Numbered admission tickets will be on sale at the door starting at 9 a.m. The sale continues with free admission that same day from noon to 5:30 p.m. and on October 23 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Free admission continues on Sunday, October 24 from 1 to 5:30 p.m. when books inside the library, in the Community Room, will be half-price. Outside, in the tent, from 3 to 5:30 p.m., customers can fill a paper supermarket bag with books for $5.
Due to the quantity of audio-visual and foreign language books, a separate sale will be held for those materials at the library on December 4.
Donations of books in good condition are always welcome, especially quality books in the arts and humanities. Not needed are, among others, self-help, business and technical books, law books, out of date travel guides, most encylopedias, Readers’ Digest Condensed Books and Book of the Month Club items. Books in poor condition cannot be offered for sale. Donors should ring the bell at the library deliveries entrance, accessible from the Wiggins Street driveway. For large donations, arrangements can be made in advance by phoning (609) 924-9529 ext. 280. In special cases, books can be picked up at the donor’s home.
Last year’s Annual Book Sale, together with the award-winning Library Book Store, generated the highest income in the history of the sales. Located on the main floor of the library to the left immediately upon entering the building, the store is open during library hours and features a wide range of books of interest to all ages at low prices.
Princeton Public Library is located at 65 Witherspoon Street in Princeton Borough. Call (609) 924-9529 or visit www.princetonlibrary.org for further information.